I 



THE 

WEST INDIA COLONIES; 



CALUMNIES AND MISREPRESENTATIONS 
CIRCULATED AGAINST THEM 

BY 

THE EDINBURGH REVIEW, MR. CLARKSON, MR. CROPPER, 
SfC. Sfc. 

EXAMINED AND REFUTED, 

BY JAMES M'QUEEN, 



Speak of e them as they are ;' nothing extenuate, 
Nor set down aught in malice." 



LONDON: 

PUBLISHED BY BALDWIN, CRADOCK, AND JOY, PATERNOSTER-ROW ; 
AND SOLD BY BLACKWOOD AND CO. EDINBURGH; 
JOHN SMITH AND SON, AND JAS. BRASH AND CO. GLASGOW ; 
AND ALL OTHER BOOKSELLERS. 



1824. 



TO 

CHARLES ELLIS, Esq. M. P. 

AND 

CHAIRMAN OF THE STANDING COMMITTEE 

OF 

THE WEST INDIA PLANTERS AND MERCHANTS, 
LONDON, 

THIS WORK 

IS RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED, 

BY HIS MOST OBEDIENT 

HUMBLE SERVANT, 

JAMES M'QUEEN. 



I 



PREFACE. 



THE imminent danger which at present threat- 
ens our West India Colonies ; the vast impor- 
tance of these possessions in the agricultural, 
commercial, and political scale ; the dreadful mis- 
representations scattered abroad against them; 
and the unmitigated, unmerited, and degrading 
charges heaped upon the character and the con- 
duct of the whole class of West India proprie- 
tors, renders it an imperious duty on the part of 
every one who has any regard for the character 
or safety of his country, and who may be ac- 
quainted with the real state of affairs in the Colo- 
nies, to lay the truth before the public. Having 
no stake whatever in the West Indies, actuated 
only by a regard for truth, and love for my 
country, without any interest to serve, or resent- 
ment to gratify ; but not shrinking from a subject 

b2 



Viii PREFACE. 

for the present so unpopular, I have presumed 
to lay before the world the following sheets. 
With what success I have defended the cause of 
these valuable and much injured possessions, it 
is for the public to determine. 

It was not my intention, and it is far from my 
thoughts, to hurt the personal feelings of any 
man, or any body of men, who on these subjects 
may differ from me in opinion. I deprecate and 
disclaim any such objects. On the subjects in 
dispute, because I feel strongly, I have spoken 
my sentiments freely, but not disrespectfully or 
offensively, nor in stronger language than the 
statements put forward by the anti-Colonists 
(more especially their anonymous writers) 
have appeared to warrant, or the importance of 
the subject to require. Where the names of 
individuals have unavoidably been introduced, I 
have to state that my observations and censures 
apply only to their public conduct, writings, and 
proceedings, connected with this important dis- 
cussion. The benevolent intentions of multi- 
tudes who take a different view of the subject 



PREFACE. IX 

from what I do, cannot be doubted, and deserve 
the highest praise. But they have been misled, 
and unless they attend to truth, their exertions 
in the cause of humanity may be attended with 
fatal results. It is to those secret informers and 
anonymous writers who have misled them, that 
my strongest and severest censures apply. 

An enemy to personal Slavery in the abstract, 
still I cannot shut my eyes to the fact, that it 
has always existed, and still exists to a pro- 
digious extent amongst mankind. Much as I 
should rejoice to see only freemen — men capable 
of enjoying freedom in every country on earth, still 
I am not so sanguine as to imagine or to believe, 
that either the present generation, or the children's 
children of the present generation, will witness 
that consummation. It is because I am an enemy 
to Slavery, that I would oppose the rash, unjust, 
and dangerous measures now proposed for the 
abolition of personal Slavery in the West In- 
dies, measures which, whatever the authors of 
them intend, will make the freemen in these 
possessions Slaves, and give the rein to bar- 



X PREFACE. 

barism to trample down— to extirpate civiliza- 
tion. 

Genuine Christianity will accomplish, and it 
only can accomplish, what its Great Author 
intended, namely, such a reformation (where 
reformation is sought) in the human character 
and manners as would lead to a safe ameliora- 
tion in political institutions, and a more equal 
distribution of civil rights amongst nations ; 
such amelioration as will raise the Slave to free- 
dom, with the master's consent, as soon as the 
Slave shall be fitted to make a proper use of that 
freedom. Every other interference with political 
institutions and municipal rights, Christianity 
condemns. "Do ye unto others whatsoever things 
ye would that others should do unto you," is 
the Christian rule; but our modern reformers and 
emancipators forget that the text has a context 
which imperatively enjoins, that before we 
judge and condemn, we should endeavour to 
place ourselves in the situation of those whom 
we are about to judge and condemn, and then 
remember and be guided by the Divine law; 



PREFACE. XI 

and further, our anti-Colonists should remember 
that this injunction was laid upon Slaves as well 
as upon masters, and that it is equally binding 
upon both. It is through a diffusion of true know- 
ledge that we can alone look to bring about 
emancipation. This mode requires no accusa- 
tion — no defamation — no declamation — no misre- 
presentation—no injustice. We have the example 
and commands of our Saviour and his Apostles 
to guide us in such matters, and let us follow 
His and their footsteps and commands, rather 
than the footsteps and commands (I mean no 
reflections upon the creeds or the understandings) 
of Mr. Buxton, Mr. W. Smith, Mr. Stephen, 
and Mr. Clarkson, however specious their pro- 
fessions, or respectable their character. 

In an enlightened and intelligent country like 
this, it is truly surprising that the real situation 
of the West India Colonies, with which we have 
so long had such frequent intercourse, should be 
so little known, and so easily and so grossly 
misrepresented. Yet so it is. But the system 
of delusion which has so long been employed to 



Xli PREFACE. 

defame the inhabitants of those countries is ap- 
proaching its termination. The veil is rent asun- 
der — truth will prevail. The people of this 
generous nation, misled by the perversion and 
misapplication of the sacred names of liberty and 
humanity, will return — are already returning 
to the path of reason and justice, with the re- 
solution to protect, not to devote to misery — 
despair — destruction, their fellow-countrymen, 
in those distant but most valuable portions of 
our dominions. This generous nation and en- 
lightened people will, I feel confident, no longer 
endure that unfair and unehristianlike system, 
which, upon insulated and exaggerated acts of 
cruelty and oppression, condemns and consigns 
to infamy and ruin a whole community — they 
will no more, I repeat, endure and tolerate this 
system, than they would endure that the general 
character of Britons should be judged by the ac- 
tions and conduct of a Thurtell, a Probert, and 
a Hunt, or by the conduct of those individuals 
who, while they branded with every crime in- 
nocent West India Colonists, eulogized the 



PREFACE. Xlll 

character of the most cold-blooded murderer 
that ever stained the annals of the criminal ca- 
lendar of this country. 

The enlightened statesmen who guide the 
affairs of this mighty nation, cannot fail to per- 
ceive that the crude schemes of our anti-Colonists 
if carried into execution, would lead to the loss 
of the West India Colonies. Insurrection and 
rebellion might, I allow, be put down by the 
mighty power of Great Britain ; but if the pro- 
perty is destroyed by internal convulsion, it can 
never be replaced or restored ; and after put- 
ting down these insurrections, Great Britain 
would find that she only ruled over unproduc- 
tive lands. But even without insurrectious, 
emancipation would destroy the credit — the ca- 
pital, which have hitherto carried on the agri- 
culture of the Colonies. After what has already 
taken place, the British Government will find it 
a more difficult business to restore that credit, 
without which cultivation cannot go on in the 
Islands, than to reconquer the Colonies, were 
the whole of them in open rebellion. This is a 



xiv PREFACE. 

point which may now be ridiculed,, and passed 
over as undeserving of notice, but a short pe- 
riod will bring it full in the face of the governors 
and the governed, in all its appalling reality. 
With ten sail of the line, and 40,000 troops— 
and an additional expense of three millions an- 
nually, this country may keep emancipated ne- 
groes in subjection, and obtain from the pro- 
ceeds of their labour the produce of the few 
Cotton and Coffee bushes at present growing in 
our Colonies (even could their produce be guard- 
ed from the Americans), but she would obtain 
from them nothing more. 

From the events passing in other countries let 
us learn wisdom. Some years ago the Emperor 
Alexander decreed the emancipation of the 
villeins, or slaves, in the Polish provinces bor- 
dering upon Russia Proper. The order was 
obeyed, but mark the consequences — the mas- 
ters were all ruined, and the slaves left without 
means or credit. The master who previously 
had an income of £10,000, was left with less 
than a twentieth part of that sum. For his land 



PREFACE. XV 

he could get no rent from miserable people who 
had nothing to give, and neither the inclination 
nor the means of earning wherewithal to pay rent. 
Where the ample fortune of the master had en- 
abled him previously in cases of necessity, to 
provide for his Slaves, he had no longer the 
means nor an interest to do so, and the conse- 
quence has been, that the lands have remained 
either ill-cultivated, or wholly barren, and tens 
of thousands of the emancipated Slaves (un- 
willing to work) have been swept away by famine, 
and extreme misery covers whole provinces once 
flourishing. These facts may be ascertained by 
any one who will t take the trouble to inquire ; and 
if such were the results in Russian Poland, where 
500,000 bayonets kept down open revolt, how 
much more dreadful will the consequences be of 
emancipating the African Slaves in our West 
India Colonies ? 

Without a single inquiry or investigation — 
without duly -considering how emancipation was 
to be effected, or what would be the result of 
of emancipation to the important interests in- 



Xvi PREFACE. 

volved in that great revolution in the frame of 
society in the Colonies, Mr. Buxton, hurried 
on bimself, has precipitated his country into a 
situation from which her wisest and her boldest 
statesmen must shudder to go forward, and be 
perplexed how to turn back. 

The labours of the ant and the bee have been 
held up by moralists as examples to teach man- 
kind wisdom and industry. Both, but more 
especially the latter, may, in this case, teach 
statesmen a lesson, and prove a sure guide to 
estimate the productive labour and industry of 
the sluggish uncivilized natives of the torrid 
zone, when not directed by civilized knowledge. 
Take the bee from Britain to the West Indies, 
and for the first year, during the summer months, 
it continues to amass its stores, and provide for 
approaching winter ; finding, however, no win- 
ter, and that supplies of food can be had at all 
seasons, it relaxes its industry, and ceases, as 
in Europe, to collect a store ; it adopts the cha- 
racter of an inhabitant of the torrid zone, and 



PREFACE. XVII 

the mere food for the day is all that is sought 
after. 

A good deal has been said about the violence 
with which the Colonial Legislatures have met 
this important question. Before we judge their 
proceedings, we must first endeavour to place 
ourselves in their situation. Their greatest, and 
their only error, is in having identified the exe- 
cutive government of the mother country with 
the formidable anti Colonial party lately sprung 
up in it. Now, considering the conduct and 
proceedings of the leaders and prompters of this 
party — considering that they had described the 
Colonists to be u white savages," &c. &c. — men 
fit to be placed without the protection of law — 
that this party called — call upon the Legislature 
and the Government of the country, to annihi- 
late and take away the privileges and rights 
which, as British subjects, the Colonists are en- 
titled to possess — and considering, further, that 
this party, by every means in their power, have 
taught the Slaves in these Colonies that their 
masters are their oppressors, not their protectors, 



xviii PREFACE. 

and that, consequently, the nation ought to 
emancipate the whole of them, passings as lightly 
as possible, over the word compensation — con- 
sidering all these things — considering that the 
Colonists saw (if I may use the expressions) the 
hand of the robber at their pockets, and the 
dagger of the assassin at their bosoms, no won- 
der that their representations were strong, and 
their voice loud. They would have been un- 
worthy the name of Britons, if they had not 
complained, and made their complaints reach 
the mother country with the utmost speed, 
energy, and strength. Yet, after all, what are 
their proceedings, complaints, and resolutions, 
when compared with the proceedings, com- 
plaints, and resolutions at public meetings in 
this country, extolled to the skies by those very 
men, who are the foremost on this occasion to 
condemn with unqualified reprobation the con- 
duct of our persecuted and calumniated Co- 
lonies? 

The British agriculturists settled in the Co- 
lonies hold, and must continue to hold their 



PREFACE xix 

property as matter of right. They will never 
condescend to enter the lists with those who 
insist that they hold, and must only hold it as a 
matter of favour. 

If the existence of personal Slavery in any 
part of our dominions is become so obnoxious 
to our constitution and laws, that it must be 
abrogated, and equal political rights bestowed 
upon every class in our dominions, then let 
those laws, which instituted Slavery as advan- 
tageous to the national interests, do it away by 
paying the value of the property. Whenever 
the legislature of this country, from motives of 
policy and regard to civil rights, determines that 
this should be done, I, for one, shall willingly 
pay my quota of the tax, but let it not be de- 
manded, because the Slaves in our Colonies are 
illegally held as Slaves, or treated with cruelty 
and oppression, which is not the case. 

With regard to our valuable possessions in 
the East Indies, I esteem them as highly as 
either Mr. Clarkson, Mr. Cropper, or Mr. 
Stephen can do. They are a bright gem in the 



XX PREFACE. 

British crown, and may, Ihumbh conceive, be ren- 
dered still more valuable, by laying that trade 
open to British subjects, which is free to every 
foreigner. Where I have spoken of these pos- 
sessions, or those connected with the direction of 
them with asperity, it has been forced from me in 
argument, and in order to meet with facts the 
thoughtless and injudicious comparisons, brought 
forward by men, who call themselves their advo- 
cates, but who are actuated by principles alike 
hostile to all our Colonial possessions; and whose 
formidable machinery, fairly put in motion, 
will overturn from its foundations the mighty 
power of Britain in India, and then coolly tell 
us it is a punishment from Heaven for our na- 
tional misdeeds — the scape-goat of all injudi- 
cious and ignorant reformers. The government 
at present established in India, is, considering 
every circumstance the best that could be in- 
stituted in a country so demoralized and dis- 
organized. It is the best that could be established 
to bring peace and security to the afflicted peo- 
ple, the prey of ignorant tyrants— -it is the best 



PREFACE. XX i 

calculated., I believe, to bring order out of confu- 
sion, and pave the way for the introduction of true 
knowledge ; but let the prompters of the African 
Institution once get a footing either in India or in 
Leadenhall-street — let but a few such " good 
men 5 ' as lately enlightened Demerara, have li- 
berty to exercise their talents on the banks of 
the Ganges, and the prophecy of the Edinburgh 
Review would be realized — we should lose our 
Indian Empire as quickly " as a frigate or a 
fort." Even Mr. Stephen himself feels no small 
degree of alarm on this subject, and gives our 
Statesmen fair warning, " Let any Statesman," 
says he, " turn his eyes to our enormous wide 
extended possessions in the East ; which every 
maritime State beholds with an envy undis- 
guised, and where Feance will no longer 
have to direct her means of annoyance for pur- 
poses of defence," Sec. Aye, let the would-be- 
Statesmen among us turn their eyes and con- 
template this prospect, and learn therefrom not 
to endanger or destroy our West India Colo- 
nies by their crude speculations. 



XXII PREFACE. 

It would be a waste of time further to follow 
Mr. Stephen's wild lucubrations. I shall now 
leave them, after briefly noticing one more of 
his recommendations. He calls upon the Bri- 
tish Parliament to " cease impotently and mis- 
chievously to reco7n?nend, and begin at length 
to ordain" his laics for the Colonies. When- 
ever the British Parliament begins to follow 
Mr. Stephen's advice, and " ordain" that Bri- 
tish subjects shall no longer have a voice in di- 
recting, regulating, and preserving their pro- 
perty, from that moment we are all Slaves — the 
principle may, with equal justice be applied to 
himself — to every one of us, and we should have 
a government armed with the same powers as a 
Napoleon, a Tamerlane, or a Zenghis Khan; 
and who, being no more interested in our per- 
sonal comfort, safety, and prosperity, than those 
tyrants were in the safety and prosperity of their 
subjects, might, after the example of those great 
personages, doom us to be " food for cannon" 
or for the sword. 

The principles recommended by Mr. Stephen 



PREFACE. XXlll 

will, if inforced, raze from its place the foundation 
stone of the British Constitution. These prin- 
ciples drove James II. from his throne, and 
brought Charles the I. to the scaffold, and en- 
abled a parcel of canting hypocrites, during 
their day, to trample upon a mighty nation. 
Mr. Stephen may advocate such principles, and 
broach such doctrines, but he is not prime mi- 
nister of Great Britain. If he was, it is evi- 
dent that by unconstitutional conduct, he would 
raise a tempest which would sweep him from his 
place in a moment. 

Mr. Stephen may also possess that nerve and 
temerity which would induce him to set his foot 
upon the neck of on eighth part of the population 
of the United Kingdom, and annihilate their 
property; but I feel convinced that there is not 
yet born in Great Britain, another Statesman, 
who dare even to hint that such are his feelings 
and intentions. 

To the sneers which Mr. Stephen and his col- 
leagues throw out about the trifling amount of 
the British exports to the West India Islands, 

c2 



Xxiv PREFACE. 

the reply is very short. By the evidence taken 
before the House of Commons, 1806, it clearly 
appeared that the expense of cultivating each 
cwt. of Sugar, cost in the Leeward Islands, 
19s. 6d. and in Jamaica, 20s. 6d. Now, these 
Colonies produce in round numbers 4,000,000 
cwts. Sugar, consequently here is a consump- 
tion of ^4,000,000 British exports in one shape 
or another, independent of what is consumed on 
cotton, coffee, and cocoa plantations and other 
ways. 

In page 199 1 have stated the exports of 
Hayti in coffee as being under 20,000,000 lbs. 
At that time I had no accurate data to guide me 
in the exports to Continental Europe. The 
London general mercantile returns for last year, 
if correct, which I shall assume, supply that de- 
ficiency and increase the quantity exported. It 
will stand thus : — 

Page 199. British and Americans, take. . . . 13,057,177 lbs, 
Continental Europe, 1822 19,577,600 

Total 33,634,777 lbs. 

Half the quantity imported into Continental 
Europe was into France. In the above, how- 



PREFACE, XXV 

ever, it must be recollected the exports from the 
Spanish part of St. Domingo are included. 
What these are I know not, but they must be 
considerable. Only 270 tons of Sugar were 
imported into Continental Europe from St. Do- 
mingo last year. 

The powerfullest states in South America also 
sink into insignificance before our West In- 
dia Colonies. Colombia, with a population of 
3,000,000, does not export and import one half 
the amount that Demarara and Essequibo with 
a population of only 83,000 do. Mexico, the 
richest and most powerful state in South America, 
contains 7,000,000 of inhabitants. The average 
exports and imports for fifteen years ending 
1820 were as under : — 

Imports from all parts, annually £2,763,725 

Exports to all parts, specie <£2,355,262 

Ditto Produce 838,532 

3,193,794 

The whole host of the enemies of our Colo- 
nies alternately boast and threat about the great 
sum this country pays annually for bounty upon 
Sugar, which by-the-bye the East Indies enjoy, or 
may enjoy, as well as the West. Let us exa- 



XXVi PREFACE. 

mine and see what this great sum is. This 
bounty or drawback is only paid on what is ex- 
ported, and at the rate of 3s. per cwt. The 
quantity exported last year of refined, when 
reduced into the raw material upon which the 
bounty is calculated, was 790,600 cwt., the bounty 
on which will stand thus : — - 

790,600 cwt. at 3f £118,590 

Against which we have to set — 

Rerenue from 4£ per Cents £ 48,000 

Charge of duty on deficiency of strength and quantity ~\ 

of Rum in bond, equal to £2 per puncheon on an > 100,000 
average — this on 50,000 puncheons is J 

£148,000 

or a gain of ^30,000 to this country. Can Mr. 
Clarkson, Mr. Cropper, or Mr. Stephen deny 
these facts ? — and till they can do so, let them 
keep silence about the loss Great Britain sus- 
tains by the trifling bounty paid upon West 
India Sugar when exported. 



C O N TENT 8, 



CHAPTER I. 

Introduction. — Former opinions of the Review onWest 
India Subjects — complete change, — East India Su- 
gar. — Erroneous statements regarding it. — The 
mode of manufacturing it. — Small quantity produ- 
ced. — The high price and bad quality. — Loss this 
Country would sustain by using it. — Attempts to 
cultivate Sugar in India in the West India mode. — 
Failure and loss to the Company. — Ad valorem 
duty wanted. — Absurd calculations and statements, 
by Mr. Cropper. — Right of West Indians to pro- 
tection; East India Company admit. — Parliament 
determine the question in their favour Page 1 

CHAPTER II. 

East and West Indies — political constitutions totally 
different. — Mis-statements of Mr. Clarkson regard- 
ing the expense of each to Great Britain. — Trade, 
East Indies and China. — Trade, West Indies. — 
Great superiority of the latter. — Deceptions in the 
Parliamentary returns on these heads. — Hoiv India 
may be benefitted, and the West Indies not injured. 



CONTENTS. 



Misrepresentations of the Review and Mr. Cropper 
regarding the Indian trade, examined and exposed. 
Trade, United States to Canton almost equal to 
that of Great Britain. — Absurd regulations of East 
India Company, 5yc 51 



CHAPTER III. 

West Indies charged with continuing the African Slave 
Trade. — Refuted from Official Documents. — Fo- 
reign Slave Trade. — Great extent — extended, not 
diminished. — Ruin to our Colonies. — Wrong me- 
thod chosen to suppress it. — Sierra Leone. — Immense 
expense it has cost this country. — Yields nothing, 
be fyc. ... , 78 



CHAPTER IV. 

Statements of the anti- Colonists that Sugar is cultivated 
in India by free men instead of Slaves. — Not correct. 
— Slaves in India — the cultivators of the soil. — Fe- 
males sold as Slaves for the purpose of prostitution. 
This practice common in the East. — Miserable situa- 
tion of the free farmers in India, — Wretched state 
of their Slaves. — The numbers of the latter very 
great. — Hard labour — bad food — herd with cattle. 
— Inflammatory and deceitful statements of the Re- 
viewer, Mr. Clarkson, and Mr. Cropper, on these 
points, as directed against our West India Colonies, 
examined and refuted * 92 



CONTENTS, 



CHAPTER V. 

Pamphlet of Mr. Clarkson. — Unfounded and grievous 
calumnies. — Their falsehood exposed. — Statement 
of Clarkson and others, that to hold or to own 
Slaves constitutes a crime in the eyes of Heaven. 
— Examined and refuted from both the Old and New 
Testament. — Slaves in our Colonies asserted to have 
been obtained by Violence, " stolen," and consequent- 
ly title to them illegal, — The Trade in which they 
were obtained shewn to have been formerly legal, 
both by the laws of this country and of Africa. 
— Origin of Slavery. — Laivs and practice of the 
Jews concerning it. — Prisoners of war sold as 
Slaves. — Great extent and long standing of the 
trade in Africa. — Europeans found the Trade — did 
not create it. — Proofs from Report Committee of 
Privy Council, 1789, and from various authorities, 
to shew the legality of the Trade. — Its prevalence 
in Africa. — Who are made Slaves there. — Criminals, 
debtors, and prisoners of War. — Cruelty of the 
African Princes. — Kill or sacrifice the Prisoners 
they cannot sell. — Mr. Clarkson s false statements 
on these Points refuted, $c. fyc 119 

CHAPTER VI. 

Mr. Clarkson s and the Reviewer's statements of the 
success of free labour by emancipated Slaves examined 
and refuted — has every where failed. — In Sierra 
Leone.— Miser able state of that place — Trade thereof 



CONTENTS. 



—deceptions practised upon this country regarding 
it. — A great burden to us — yields no returns. — Ame- 
rican negroes set free in Trinidad — interesting and 
important account — their character — work little — 
great expense of their labour — cannot be depended 
upon in any way — cultivation of Sugar cannot be 
carried on with them, — To rtojl a negroes set free by 
Mr. Nottingham, and the apprenticed Africans. — 
Gross mis-statements put forward regarding them by 
Mr. Clarkson and the African Institution. — Culti- 
vate no produce for exportation — A striking in- 
stance of the fallacy of the arguments of the Eman- 
cipation Society exhibited in the state of these very 
people, be 151 

CHAPTER VII 

St. Domingo — adduced by Mr. Clarkson as a proof of 
the blessings and advantages of negroe emancipation 
— his accounts relative to it in every point at vari- 
ance with historical facts. — True account of the 
rise and progress of the insurrection in it. — Horrid 
cruelties. — Island totally ruined. — British expedi- 
tion there in 1795. — Forced to abandon it. — Its 
former state and trade. — Its present state and 
trade, from official and authentic documents. — 
Striking contrast. . . Miserable state of the country 
compared to what it formerly was. — Immoral and 
debased and degraded state of its population. — 
Sinking fast into their original barbarism. — Pro- 
ductive industry on the lowest scale, &c. $c. . . .176 



CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER VIII 

Emancipation of the negroes in Cayenne. — Fata! 
consequences to themselves and to the cultivation. — 
Both ruined. — The same consequences ensued in 
Gaudaloupe during the Rights of Man. — The same 
in Grenada— Steele's scheme in Barbadoes a de- 
lusion and deception. — Natural and political causes 
occasioned the increased returns of his estates. — 
Disbanded West India Black Soldiers — their bad 
character. — Mr. Clarkson's singular argument, 
that if we emancipate our Colonial Slaves, the 
Slave Trade, and Slavery throughout the World, 
will be rooted out $1G 

CHAPTER IX. 

Daring calumnies of the Abolition Society and their 
writers. — The Rev. Mr. Coopers statements — his 
conduct and proceedings examined and exposed. — 
Mr. John Meabry's hideous charges refuted upon 
oath. — Affidavit, Mr. Robertson, Jamaica, on this 
head — important. — Shameless and dangerous system 
of espionage carried on by the African Institution 
against the West India Colonies. — Dangerous pro- 
ceedings of their spies and informers — attended with 
the most ruinous consequences, &c 220 

CHAPTER X. 

Manifesto of the abolition society. — Examined point 
by point.—- Their charges refuted in every instance. 



CONTENTS, 



— True state of, our West India Colonies, and 
the treatment of our negroes in these possessions 
most particularly stated. — Marriages. — Religious 
instruction and establishments. — Population of these 
Colonies — their labour — their food — their cloth- 
ing — their houses — their property — their punish- 
ments—fixed by law, b)C. — Scandalous mis-state- 
ments, and calumnies, advanced under these heads 
against the Colonies, by the Review, Mr. Clarkson, 
and others , 244 



CHAPTER XL 

Slavery as it formerly existed in Europe and in Eng- 
land. — Numerous important facts kept out of view 
by the anti- Colonists. — Negroes dislike innovations. 
— Instance of emancipated negroes in Tortola de- 
clining agricultural labour. — Spanish Colonial sys- 
tem strangely adduced, as an example for Great Bri- 
tain to imitate. — Emancipated Slaves in United 
State*. — Their wretched state and bad character. — 
Enfranchisement of Slaves in Colombia misrepre- 
sented. — Row effected — Importation of Slaves still 
continued by the United States. — Disingenuous pro- 
ceedings of the anti-Colonists. — Buxton s motion. 
— The time they appoint for complete emancipa- 
tion 308 

CHAPTER XII. 

Immense stake at issue on this question. — English 
laws constitute Slaves property. — African Institu- 



CONTENTS. 



Hon may civilize Africa without injuring the West 
Indies. — Great property of West India proprietors. 
— Productive industry of our Colonies, contrasted 
with that of the Mother Country and other places. 
— France and United States watching our conduct, 
and rejoicing at our errors. — Dangerous state of 
the Colonies. — Prompt and decided measures neces- 
sary for their preservation. — Government of the Co- 
lonies must not he taken out of the hands of the ex- 
ecutive government. — Concluding observations. — 
Further exposure of the system of espionage and 
calumny carried on hy the anti- Colonists — Mr . 
Stephens new publication — Negroe Slavery — gene- 
ral features of it 34 L 

APPENDIX. 

Four and Half per Cent. Duties — how applied. — 
Official Returns of the Imports and Exports of the 
East and the West Indies, for Nine Years, ending 
1822. — Mr. Steele, Barbadoes— further and inter- 
esting particulars, fyc.fyc 409 



ERRATA. 



Page 137, line 1, for "practices" read "practice is," 

Page 248, note, line 5 from the bottom, for " valuable" read 

" value of" 



THE 



WEST INDIA COLONIES, &e. 



CHAPTER I. 

Introduction. — Former opinions of the Review onWest 
India Subjects — complete change. — East India Su- 
gar. — Erroneous statements regarding it. — The 
mode of manufacturing it. — Small quantity produ- 
ced. — The high price and bad quality. — Loss this 
Country would sustain by using it. — Attempts to 
cultivate Sugar in India in the West India mode. — 
Failure and loss to the Company. — Ad valorem 
duty wanted. — Absurd calculations and statements, 
by Mr. Cropper. — Right of West Indians to pro- 
tection; East India Company admit. — Parliament 
determine the question in their favour. 

" Most of our political and critical writers 
have now relieved themselves from the burden 
of all moral responsibility. Truth, consis- 
tency, and sincerity, are all of no moment. The 
object is to bite, strike, and cnt. Good faith 

B 



is another name for sincerity. Wanting that, 
what is talent, what is genius ? Bad faith is 
another name for dishonesty . It leads a man 
to say what he does not think ; to write what 
he does not believe # ." 

The writer of the preceding sentences is un- 
derstood to be a contributor to the Edinburgh 
Review, (particularly on Colonial subjects,) and 
no where are the truths here conveyed more 
strongly and strikingly exemplified, than in the 
columns of that Journal, in all that relates to 
Colonial matters. Of late years, " The Edin- 
burgh Review and Critical Journal," departing 
from its first faith, has stood the foremost in the 
ranks of the calumniators and assailants of those 
unfortunate Colonies. It is the Quarterly tri- 
coloured flag of misrepresentation and mischief, 
— " the Ajax of the party of anti-colonists 
whose labours in the prosecution and support 
(judging from their public writings and proceed- 
ings) of their darling objects, political reveries, 
and trading theories, would strip their fellow 
subjects of their property, and thereby under- 
mine — destroy, the glory, strength, security, 
and independence of their country. 

Is the public mind to be irritated, inflamed, 
misled-';— are facts to be misrepresented, and 

* Scotsman, Nov. 28, 1818. 



3 



truth concealed ; — are official documents to be 
garbled and mutilated ; — is a valuable portion 
and important bulwark of our Empire to be ca- 
lumniated and libelled preparatory to an attempt 
to annihilate the property of their population ; — 
are all these things to be effected ? then, " re- 
lieved from the burden of all moral responsi- 
bility/' the Edinburgh Reviewers step eagerly 
forward to perform the task, and in doing so, 
they, with their characteristic assurance, tell 
their superiors in rank — their equals in property 
and privileges, that they are u a few improvi- 
dent merchants and mortgagees? the u scanty 
dregs of the European population or as the 
great Parent of the Review, with that meek- 
ness for which he is so distinguished, more 
strongly expresses it — " the vilest and grossest 
rabble that ever deserved the name of human 
population t !" 

In this dangerous warfare the critic has nu- 
merous allies. Mr. Clarkson, Mr. Cropper, and 
a numerous body of anonymous writers ape 
their superiors, and league themselves in array 
against our devoted Colonies. To these I may 
add, and I add with regret, the name of Wil- 
berforce, whose better judgment is misled by 

* Edinburgh Review, vol. 19, p. 196, &c. 
f Brougham's Speech, House of Commons, June 19, 1816. — Morning 
Chronicle, June {20, 

b2 



4 



the interested speculators and thoughtless popu- 
larity hunters who surround him, and whose 
mantle ere his departure hence, and in violation of 
the tenth commandment, Mr. Buxton, has step- 
ped forward to claim as his right, and to " covet" 
as his province to wear. 

Whether the writer in the Review performs his 
task from ignorance or design, or from both, the 
sequel will enable us more clearly to determine. 

In examining and exposing the calumnies and 
misrepresentations brought forward by the Re- 
viewer and his associates, the public has a right 
to expect that whatever is stated shall be proved. 
They shall not be disappointed, for reference 
can be had on every point to authorities which 
cannot be doubted, and as we proceed, these 
will multiply and accumulate. 

Before entering upon this part of the subject, 
however, it may not be amiss to give the reader 
an opportunity of judging what the opinion of the 
Edinburgh Review formerly was upon these im- 
portant subjects. The annexed references will do 
this clearly and correctly ; and we scarcely think 
the believers in the Review will venture to state 
that the present critics are greater and abler 
men than the writer of the passages extracted, 
namely, the author of Colonial Policy, generally 
believed to be Mr. Brougham. — 



5 



*' The Negroes are truly the Jacobins of the West India Islands. 
They are the anarchists, the terrorists, the domestic enemy. Against 
them it becomes rival nations to combine, and hostile Governments to 
coalesce. They are a foe more to be dreaded than Turk or Tartar. — 
We detest the odious traffic which has poured myriads of Africans into 
the Antilles ; but we must be permitted to feel some tenderness for our 
European brethren, although they are white and civilized, and to depre- 
cate that inconsistent spirit of canting philanthropy, which, in Europe, 
is only excited by the wrongs and miseries of the poor and the profligate ; 
and on the other side of the Atlantic is never warmed but towards the 
savage, the mulatto, and the slave". — (Rev. vol. 1. p. 227.) 

" The voyage across the Atlantic will neither change the colour of the 
Ethiopian, nor civilize him, nor alter his habits of indolence, nor inspire 
him with a love of voluntary labour. We consider our Author's scheme 
of cultivation by free Negroes to be impracticable ; and for this we are 
easily consoled, by a conviction, that if carried into effect, it would be 
infinitely more dangerous, and scarcely less cruel, than the old system 
itself, with all its perils and horrors. It must either lead to the dominion 
of the cart-whip, or induce the insurrection of the Africans". — Edin. 
R*v. vol. l,p. 235 &237. 

" All subordinate arrangements are better left to the Colonial Legis- 
latures. All the individuals who form the assemblies are concerned in the 
increase and preservation of the Negro stock; in the improvement of the 
whole Colonial society ; and in the gradual reformation of the general 
system. Of their superior ability to devise and execute such measures, 
we cannot entertain the smallest doubt. They are men intimately ac- 
quainted with every minute branch of Colonial affairs, and accustomed, 
from their earliest years, to meditate upon no other subjects. They re- 
side in the heart of the system for which their plans are laid, and on 
which the success of every experiment is to be tried. To revise the do- 
mestic codes of the Colonies, would be a task which no European govern- 
ment could undertake. Let this branch of the Imperial Administration, 
then, be left to the care of those who are themselves the most immediate- 
ly interested in the good government of the distant provinces, and whose 
knowledge of local circumstances, of these things which cannot be writ- 
ten down in reports, nor told by witnesses, is more full and practical. 
Without pretending to dispute the supremacy of the Mother Country, we 
may be allowed to doubt her omniscience ; and the Colonial history of 
modern Europe, may well change our doubts into disbelief. Without 
standing up for the Colonies, we may suggest their more intimate ac- 



6 



quaintance with the details of the question. The only task for the Co- 
lonial Governments will be, to regulate the relative rights of the two 
classes, to prepare the civilization of the subordinate race, and to check 
those cruelties which may still appear in a few instances of individual 
INHUMANITY AND IMPOLICY. — Edin. Rev. vol. 2 ; and Colonial Policy , by 
Mr. Brougham, vol. 2, p. 502 — 505. 

" It is scarcely necessary to observe, that the advocates for the aboli- 
tion of the Slave Trade, most cordially reprobate all idea of eman- 
cipating the Slaves that are already in our plantations. Such a scheme 
indeed is sufficiently answered by the story of the Galley-Slaves in Don 
Quixote ; and we are persuaded, never had any place in the minds of those 
enlightened and judicious persons who have contended for the abolition 
with so much meritorious perseverance." — Rev. vol. 4, p. 477. 

" With any other class of Colonial population, enfranchised Africans 
can never coalesce." — Rev. vol. 5. p. 236. 

" Whether all the mischief of Negro liberty comes at once, or falls 
upon the system with an instantaneous shock, or only undermines it 
gradually, and then covers it with ruin in the end, we need scarcely 
take the pains to enquire ; the alternative is almost equal." — As indepen- 
dent bodies, " no civilized Government can listen to an alliance 
with them." — Rev. vol. 6, p. 341. 

" No man is insane enough in these times to speak of emancipating 
the Slaves."— Edin. Rev. vol. 19, p. 341. 

" The West India Colonies are of great importance in extending the 
manufactures and commerce of the Mother Country. It is difficult to 
find any engine more efficient for the purpose. Possessing them, has 
occasioned a pouring in of wealth into this country, much of which was 
employed in fertilizing the soil. The wealth received from the Dutch and 
other islands was, in fact, visible on whole districts of the country, not 
only from the money expended, but in the very names of the spots 
brought into cultivation." — Speech, House of Commons (Mr. Brougham}) 
April 9, 1816. 

" Each attempt of the enemy in St. Domingo, or each effort of the 
Slaves themselves to imitate the example of that settlement will shake 
to its base the whole Western wing of the European community, till in 
the course of a few years, the frail tenure will give way on which we hold 
those fine possessions ; and all the monuments of the European name 
in the southern part of the New World will vanish before the tempest. 
The real question in many a thinking man's mind is, how long they will 



7 



suffer u£ to exist in the New World ? All the arguments in the brains of 
a thousand metaphysicians will never explain away these facts." — Edin. 
Rev. vol. 6, p. 340, and 346. 

It could scarcely have been expected that the 
Critic's opinions and sentiments on these momen- 
tous questions, would have run, as they have 
done, so soon to the opposite extreme. 

Following the interested but thoughtless opi- 
nion of Mr. Cropper, who asserts in his work, 
p. 46, that the East Indies " can grow Sugar 
sufficient for the consumption of all the world, 
and at half the price at which it is produced in 
the West," the Reviewer is led into a fatal 
error. The very peremptory and authoritative 
manner in which this is repeated and assiduously 
circulated, in order to mislead this country, and 
induce the Government to adopt measures which 
would ruin the West India Colonies, renders it 
necessary to examine this point strictly, in order 
to shew its fallacy — its absurdity — its mischief. 

Instead of Sugar being raised to the extent 
stated in India, the fact, on examination, will be 
found to be, that it is raised but in a very limited 
quantity. Instead of being produced at an ex- 
traordinary cheap rate, it is certain, that every 
where it costs more than it does either in the 
West India Colonies, or other Colonial Posses- 
sions of Foreign Powers. Instead of being 
exported to supply the demand of the world, it 



8 



will be found to be perfectly notorious, that it is 
not raised in sufficient quantities to supply the 
wants of Eastern countries, in the vicinity of In- 
dia, which yield none ; nay, not even to supply 
the internal consumption of India itself, into 
which a large quantity of Sugar is imported from 
other places in the Eastern world. Instead of 
being raised at a price that enables the East In- 
dia farmer, or merchant, to undersell all other 
nations, it will be found to be an incontrovertible 
fact, that the former are not only in their own 
markets, but in the markets of every country in 
the East, undersold by Sugar of a vastly superior 
quality, brought from Java, Manilla, and China ; 
and last, though not least, that Sugar is made 
in the East as in the West Indies, by Slaves. 

It is not necessary to have recourse to any 
other authority beyond the official report pub- 
lished by the East India Company themselves, 
in December 1822, to prove these important 
truths. Had the Reviewer ever looked into the 
report in question beyond the page or the pas- 
sages which at head-quarters have in all pro- 
bability been set down to him, he would have 
perceived that a regular succession of official 
documents, continued through a period of thirty- 
two years, from 1790 to 1823, falsify in the most 
complete manner, the statements he has been 



9 



made the channel to convey. A book, however, 
containing upwards of five hundred closely 
printed folio pages, with a variety of intricate 
arithmetical tables, was no doubt too much for 
a modern critic to wade through. A report by 
the East India Company, February 29, 1792, 
indeed, countenances the delusion, and says that 
the production of Sugar in Bengal, " is capable 
of being carried to any extent, for which a de- 
mand can be found # ." This report, how r ever, 
it must be recollected, was framed, and this 
opinion was expressed, immediately after the in- 
surrection in St. Domingo had bared the Sugar 
market to an extensive degree, when the East 
India Company conceived that it was a favour- 
able opportunity to turn their attention to their 
Indian territories, as a quarter from whence the 
public could look for an adequate supply. Sub- 
sequent events shewed the fallacy of their opi- 
nions and speculations, and Mr. Pitt at that 
time, decidedly and justly, resisted every appli- 
cation from them, for introducing the principle 
of the equalization of duty. His comprehen- 
sive mind saw, that by such a principle once 
established, the West Indies might readily be 
ruined without benefit to India. 

The report distinctly informs us that the ex- 

* Official Report, page 2. 



10 



treme poverty of the peasantry of India, puts it 
out of their power to cultivate the Cane without 
pecuniary assistance. To enable them to do so, 
they borrow money from Sugar-bakers at a very 
high rate of interest, and to repay this, they are 
forced to cut their Canes before they are ripe ; 
thus losing their labour, and destroying the 
quality of the produce. " Agriculture also has 
never been carried beyond its first stage in 
Bengal." The population are ignorant, and 
averse to innovation. V ast quantities of land 
remain uncultivated, and though Bengal from 
extent, might supply all India with Sugar, " yet 
it is certain that it never has supplied more than 
a third of the demand of those places" imme- 
diately adjoining. All the productions are of an 
inferior quality. In 1821, an order for the ship- 
ment of 9000 maunds (6750 cwt.) to England, 
could not be executed, so deficient was the 
supply # . The Board of Trade in Bengal, 
1792 1, deny very pointedly, that India can 
supply " any quantity" of Sugar at a short 
notice. Casualties of various kinds, and dry 
weather destroy the crops. In 1793 they report 
the same, and state, notwithstanding the great 
demand for Europe, that, " the cultivation had 

* Report, pages 13, 44, 97, 107, first Appendix, 
f August 31, 1792, Report, p. 70. Comm. to Gov. General. 



if 



not kept pace in any considerable degree, with 
the Company's exports alone f for as the exports 
increased, the internal consumption decreased, 
from the price advancing so high that the poor 
natives could not afford to buy it # . They give 
most satisfactory reasons for this ; reasons which 
cannot change till the nature and character of 
the population of India are changed. 66 Con- 
sidering" say they u the general poverty of the 
people of these provinces, the expense of the 
cultivation of the Sugar Cane, the length of time 
before the returns are made, and the several 
persons whose interests are first affected and 
benefited, ere the peasant can find his situation 
bettered, and his means enlarged by the increased 
price given by the exporter ; we are not sur- 
prised that the unusual export of these four years 
past, has not had a greater effect than we ex- 
perience in extending cultivation." 

Upon a further reference to the General Re- 
port, not only a confirmation of these facts are 
obtained, but it is apparent that the Sugar Trade 
of India with all the countries in the East is de- 
clining, and in the most unsatisfactory state, 
where it might be flourishing ; and where, if pro- 
per attention were paid, and encouragement 
given by the government to the cultivation of 

* July 22, 1793, p. 241, Report 1st Appendix. 



12 



the Cane, they might retain and command the 
market. The complaints of all the servants of 
the Company to the Directors on this head, have 
been loud, strong, and often repeated. Before 
the capture of Calcutta, 50,000 maunds of Sugar 
were annually exported to Madras, Bombay, 
Surat, Muscat, and other parts of the Persian 
Gulph, and to Mocha and Jidda, for which 
specie was returned. Subsequently to that event, 
the exports continued to decline, till in 1776, 
(so says) the Fort William Revenue Consulta- 
tions # , it may be doubted if Bengal produces 
enough for its own consumption. By a succes- 
sion of absurd restrictions, duties, and political 
blunders, the Sugar Trade was lost to India. 
Other nations took it up, and notwithstanding 
the advantages which Bengal enjoyed over other 
countries in point of freight alone, the northern 
parts of India and Arabia, were supplied with 
Sugar by the Dutch from Batavia, and large 
quantities were imported into Hindostan from 
China f. 

The loss of the trade produced serious con- 
sequences to British India. The west coast of 

* Report, 1st Appendix, p. 12. 

f 1st Appendix, p. 12, and 4th Appendix, p. 49. The trade thus lost 
was not recovered at subsequent periods. " The Bombay market," says 
Mr. Bebb — Memorial to Marquis Cornwallis, July 9, 1780, Report, 1st. 
App. p. 16, " is supplied with Sugar from China, Manilla, Batavia, as 



Hindostan supplies the rest of the continent 
with cotton, and is consequently the great market 
for Sugar. There the article " is a necessary 
of life It consequently enters into every 
scheme of trade in that quarter, and while the im- 
ports from China increased, (and the more rapid- 
ly because Sugar formed ballast for the cot- 
ton ships from Canton) the Sugar which these 
brought was paid for in specie., thus depriving 
the British Settlements of ten lacs of rupees 
annually, thereby taking away from the circula- 
ting medium instead of adding to it, and leaving 
the produce raised by the labourers in different 
other provinces on their hands. Instead of 
freighting a ship from Bombay to Calcutta, and 
bringing back Sugar for cotton, the merchant 
was, in this state of things, compelled to freight 
a ship from Calcutta with specie, first to Ba- 
tavia or China, and thence to return to Bombay 

well as from Bengal." The Mahrattors, who are great consumers of Sugar, 
prefer the Bengal Sugars at the same price, but so absurd were the regu- 
lations regarding this valuable branch of trade, that according to the 
Bengal public consultations, Sept 8, 1790, Report, 1st App. p. 18, " the 
Bengal Sugars paid both in the market of Calcutta, Madras, and Bombay, 
as high a duty as Sugar brought from foreign parts, exclusive of the 
duty which might have been levied in the provinces from whence it had 
been brought, without allowing any bounty or drawback on exportation. 
Sugar was even imported into Madras from Ceylon, Batavia, China, &c. 
" We have to deplore an importation of Sugar (1803) from Bombay to 
the amount of 27,000 Rupees." (4th App. p. 49, Report.) 

* Report, 1st Appendix, page 13. 



14 

with foreign Sugars to purchase cotton, the pro- 
duce of his own country, by which mode of con- 
ducting the trade it was not only rendered in- 
jurious to India, but very complex, tedious, and 
expensive * 

When the restrictions on the trade to India were 
apparently in some measure relaxed to British 
subjects trading direct from Britain, all the evils 
above mentioned were aggravated and increased. 
The European demand, at Calcutta and Madras, 
raised the price of Sugar in these markets so 
high, that the introduction of Sugar from China, 
Batavia, &c, followed of course, not only into 
Bombay, but into every part of India, and tended 
to destroy the trade in Indian Sugars from port 
to port in India.f In fact, the demand men- 
tioned merely increased the introduction of 
foreign Sugars into India, not the cultivation 
of Sugar in that country, much of which Sugar 
found its way, under the name of Indian Sugar, 
both into Great Britain and the continent of 
Europe, to markets glutted and depressed by 

* Report, 1st Appendix, page 13. 
f As the European demand increased the exports from Calcutta to 
Bombay, and from Calcutta to the Persian and Arabian Gulphs decreased, 
the exports to which places had, for some years previous, begun to re- 
vive. The diminution of the trade between Calcutta and Bombay in 
1817-18 (4th Appendix, Rep. p. 44, 45), both in imports and exports was 
very considerable. The falling-off in Sugar alone amounted to ,£38,970. 
The trade and returns of the Chinese and Batavians were proportionally 
benefited and rendered more valuable. 



15 

Sugars from the foreign West India Colonies. 
The great number of British ships also which 
then crowded to these ports, in order to procure 
freight, were compelled to have recourse to 
Khaur, an inferior kind of Sugar, which rendered 
their loss in the European market the greater *. 

It is very evident, therefore, from these facts, 
drawn from the official report of the East India 
Company, that India, so far from producing 
Sugar sufficient to supply the world, does not 
produce Sugar sufficient to supply the demand 
which exists within her own bounds and the 
other markets which are or might be open to her 
in the East. Neither can India at present pro- 
duce any considerable quantity of Sugar. The 
greatest importation into England from Madras 
and Bengal, after the utmost exertions were used 
to procure it, has never exceeded 7,784 tons-}-. 

But the annexed references will place these 
facts in a clearer light J. Besides the Board of 



* 4th Appendix, Report, page 43. 

t Parliamentary Paper, No. 70, Session 1823. 

t Appendix 4th, pages 64, 65, 70, 71, 72, and 73. 



Years. 


Exports, Bengal 
to Britain. 


Imports, Bombay 
from China. 


Exports, India 
to Britain. 


1814-15 


£89,825 


£126,910 


£113,940 


1815-16 


81,843 


148,423 


106,108 


1816-17 


104,371 


123,400 


114,111 


1817-18 


125,204 


146,888 


132,449 


1818-19 


124,090 


245,372 


138,978 


1819-20 


135,442 


214,521 


224,840 



Calculating the Rupee at 2s. each. 



16 



Trade of Bengal * tell us, upon the authority of 
the President of Radnagore, that three-fifths of 
the Jaggree produced in that district is consumed 
in it, and further, that the districts of Barb- 
hoom, Rungpore, Radnagore, and Benares, are 
the only districts which produce Sugar beyond 
their own consumption. 

But there is another reason why India cannot 
export Sugar to an unlimited extent ; namely, 
that in Bengal, the great Sugar country of 
India, the cane, more especially in the neighbour- 
hood of Calcutta, is chiefly consumed in its raw 
state, as more profitable than manufacturing it 
into Sugar. The following official statement 
will shew the difference — 

Rs. As. 

Cultivating five Begahs, 1§ acres, for Sugar - - 161 9| 
Value, Ghoor or Sugar therefrom 192 8 

Profit, 20 per Cent. 30 14§ 

Cultivating five Begahs Cane, for eating - - - 105 9 
Value, Canes sold in Calcutta - 625 

Profit, 500 per Cent. 519 7f 

From India it is obvious, therefore, that there 
can be no great exportation, unless the price 
rises to an equal extent. 

Hitherto the Sugars from India have been con- 

* 4th Sept. 1792, 1st App. Rep. p. 104, 105. 
t Rep. Sir E. Colebrooke, Calcutta, 21st Oct. 1792, pages 176, 177. 



IT 

sidered only as it regards quantity, without any 
regard to its quality. In this latter respect it is 
greatly inferior to all other Sugar ; nor can it 
be otherwise, from the manner in which it is 
manufactured. All the machinery and utensils 
employed for the purpose, are the rudest and 
most barbarous that it is possible to conceive *. 
In its first stage, or Jagory, it is " a black dis- 
gusting mass" and in its second " an impure 
dark coloured, damp Sugar" In fact, after the 

* In the Report, 1st App. pages 72, 73, 84, 85, 89, 100, 101, 211, and 
3d App. pages 13, 22, 23, we find the process : — Sometimes the Cane is 
squeezed or rather ground in hand mills, but more generally between two 
rollers placed perpendicular or horizontal, and very frequently by a kind of 
spindle working like a pestle in a mortar, without the smallest attention 
to cleanliness, or to having pure vessels to receive the juice. The wretched 
machines are placed at the side of the Cane fields which are to be cut. 
A sufficient number of people bring the Canes to the mill, without strip- 
ping or cleaning them of their various impurities. At the mill, a man in 
some districts cuts the Cane into pieces six inches long, and in other dis- 
tricts into pieces only 1| inches long. Another man puts these pieces 
into the basket of the man who feeds the mill ; a fourth drives the bul- 
locks ; a fifth carries the juice to the boiler in small pots, mixed as it is, 
with dirt and pieces of mogass ; a sixth attends the fire ; a seventh sup- 
plies the fuel ; and the eighth manages the boiler. The juice is boiled in 
flat iron pans, and is, says Hamilton, passed through several until it is 
sufficiently inspissated, which is when it has been reduced to one- 
fourth part. Nothing is either added to it or taken from it. It is not 
scummed. It in fact contains many impurities. This inspissated juice 
is called Jagory, or Jag-gee, or more properly " Cake extract," and 
" Pot extract," the former " a black disgusting mass, but superior 
to the other, which is less inspissated, and which is put into earthen pots, 
&c." Jagory or Ghoor, in order to make Dowloa Sugar, is put into 
close baskets till one-fourth drops gradually through. " What remains m 

C 



18 



various tedious processes and delays to which it 
is subjected in the course of manufacture, it is 
surprising that Sugar even of the worst quality 
should be produced. Yet with all these facts 
and references before him, the Reviewer has had 
the hardihood to assert, (No. 75, p. 215,) that 
West India Sugar is of "a very inferior qua- 
lity" The quality, however, of this boasted In- 
dian Muscovado Sugar in its third state, as it is 

the baskets being an impure dark-coloured damp Sugar," is put into other 
baskets, after which it undergoes various other processes till it reaches 
the scale of Ckenee, the kind of Sugar sent to England, and from which, 
by Another process, a kind of refined Sugar is made ; 640 Sers (1287 
lbs.) Jagory, after another process, produces 480 Sers of Sugar, which 
being again reboiled, at the end of 75 or 80 days produces, in a finer pro- 
cess, 144 Sers Sugar, or about one-fifth of the original quantity. The 
remainder is molasses and scummings. " Cake Extract" produces 96 
Sers from 480. In some districts the better kind of inspissated juice 
is called RllULEE,/bwr inaunds of which produce one maund of Chenee. 
After the juice is boiled into Jagory, it is not unfrequently carried 100 
miles in jars, and sold to a second class of Sugar Manufacturers, on very 
low terms, who boil it down once or twice and get 201bs. Sugar from a 
maund (841bs.) of Jagory. The Sugar thus obtained is of a soft greasy 
quality, proceeding from the quantity of milk put into it to correct the 
acidity of the juice. Before boiling, the juice is sometimes carried to a 
considerable distance and sold to people who are Sugar Boilers. One mill 
and one set of implements, though rude and simple, serve for several farms. 
It is only large farmers that cut one acre of Canes in a year. The 
implements and machinery generally belong to some wealthy man, who 
hires them out to his poorer neighbours. The work also is often performed 
by the joint labour of the farmers, and the Crop must be finished in six 
weeks. From such a miserable system the Sugar must infallibly be bad, 
and the cost, however cheap the labour in each process may be, must 
ultimately come to be very high. 



m 

brought to England, was put to the test by- 
order of the East India Company in 1791, and 
the following report by Mr. Favers, an eminent 
Sugar Refiner in London, dated April 19th, 
1791, clearly established its great inferiority. 
" It proved," says he, " extremely different in 
its nature from any Sugar that had ever passed 
through his pans ; it had no disposition to gra- 
nulate like West India Sugar ; though tem- 
pered with strong lime-water ; and now that it 
has undergone the operation of claying it has 
become very soft, and of the nature of Soap 
when it has been a long time in water." — 

Cwt. qrs. lbs. 
One Cwt. of it produced clayed Sugar Oil 
Syrup 1 23 
Heading 1 
Scum 1 16 

1 1 12* 

Relying, or affecting to rely, upon the infor- 
mation and evidence of Sir Henry Colebrooke, 
and Thomas Scot, Esq. The Reviewer, page 
214, states, first upon the authority of the for- 
mer : " Bengal produces Sugar generally. It 
is cheaply produced, and frugally manufactured. 
Raw Sugar procured in a mode peculiar to 
India, but analogous to the process of making 

* Rep. p. 4, — The difference or extra weight, arises no doubt from the 
quantity of water, &c. added. 

2 



20 



muscovado, costs less than five shillings sterling- 
per cwt. In the British West Indies, it cannot 
be produced for six times the price*." Secondly^ 
upon the authority of the latter, he adds, 
u Khaur Skucker, is the best Sugar for the 
British market, and resembles the Sugar we get 
from the West Indies, which is now selling at 
7d. per lb. ; this is raised by the middling 
classes ; but the Zemindars, being more opulent, 
go on a larger scale : — 2J Rupees, the average 
price mentioned by Mr. Scot, is at the present 
rate of exchange about 6s. Sd. per cwt." From 
India, therefore, " the largest supply would 
hardly exceed half the ordinary price at which 
it is obtained from the West Indies? 

Mr. Cropper in his report, written for the 
Liverpool East India Association, takes up the 
same ground. In page 20, he informs us, that 
" Sugar can be produced much cheaper in the 
East Indies, than in the West, and that this 
is a strong reason why the claims of the West 
Indies should not be granted." And in pages 
48, 49, and 58, he continues, " why should the 
people of England be compelled to submit to a 
clear, undisputed, and acknowledged tax, to 

* This is not true — 30*. per cwt. in the West Indies, would be a good 
saving price at this moment. 



21 



force up the price of an article to 6^d. which, 
without any diminution of the revenue, the peo- 
ple could get at 2^d. or 3d. per lb." 

When Sir Henry Colebrooke, and Thomas 
Scot, Esq. came forward with such ridiculous 
statements, it may convince the most thoughtless, 
that individuals may reside long in India, and 
yet know very little of its agricultural or com- 
mercial concerns. That Sugar, such as is brought 
" from the West India Colonies," for the con- 
sumption of this country, can be raised in India; 
that it is raised in that country, or any where 
else, at "five shillings sterling per cwt" is 
positively impracticable. Whether Sir Henry 
Colebrooke, and Mr. Scot, knew the fact or not, 
I will not pretend to determine ; but, that both 
Mr. Cropper, and the Reviewer, when they 
stated this low price, should not know, the one 
from his own experience as a merchant, the other 
from the official report in his hands, that what 
they were asserting was incorrect, it is difficult 
to imagine. There is not indeed a page in the 
report in question, that does not falsify in the 
completest, and most decided manner, the daring 
assertion, made of the superior cheapness of Su- 
gar produced in the Eastern world. In India, the 
price of the Jagory, from which the muscovado 
Sugar is produced, is from 6s. 4%d. per cwt. to 

c3 



22 

lis. 4 T V^ per cwt, according to its quality, and 
this produces only one fourth or one half the 
quantity of muscovado Sugar, doubling the price 
in the one case, and quadrupling it in the other; 
as the refuse in the process may be supposed to de- 
fray the expense of the labour required. In gene- 
ral the price of Jagory is from 6s. to Ss. per cwt v 
yet it is this wretched substance — this " black 
disgusting mass? four cwt. of which, scarcely 
make one cwt. of bad Sugar ; it is this Jagory, 
that the critic, and Messrs. Cropper and Co. 
(whether from ignorance or design, I know not) 
set down as the Indian Sugar seen in the British 
market ; and this price, — the price of that Jagory 
in India, which they state as the price of good 
Indian Sugar in the British market. But the price 
of Indian Sugar is in reality very different, and 
bears a much higher value * 4 The price in India, 

* In order that the facts regarding these important subjects, may be 
placed fully before the reader, I shall endeavour to draw up a condensed 
summary of them, under different heads from the official voluminous 
report. 

Expense of manufacturing Sugar. 

The cultivator of Sugar is either the immediate proprietor of the land, or 
a person who rents it from the proprietor. Compared with the materials 
for cultivation in the West Indies, the materials employed in the East are 
light, cheap, and removable from place to place *, In Bengal, simple 
diet, and scanty clothing suffice the peasant, and the price of labour is 
consequently low — rather under 2d. per day. The dwelling of the manu- 
facturer, or rather Sugar Planter, is a straw hut ; he requires little capital, 

* Report, 1st. App. p. 53. 



23 

according to the official reports referred to, varies 
from Ganjam the highest 30s. 8±d. per cwt, to 
Radnagore the lowest 16s, \\d. per cwt., ac- 

and the abode of the immediate labourer, or bondman, is still more 
humble *. The boiling utensils, four Cudgree pots, are only valued at 
2d. each. The Sugar-bakers, in the months of September and October, 
when they perceive that the crop is secured (but not till then) advance 
money to the Ryots at a very high interest, but without which, they could 
not carry on the cultivation and manufacture f. Nevertheless, says Bu- 
chanan, " the Planters in the West Indies have a decided advantage over 
those in Hindostan, in climate, soil, carriage, and skill in agriculture and 
mechanics," though the price of labour, and African labourers are much 
against them J. In order to induce the peasants to bring forward a greater 
quantity of Sugar, the Company advanced large sums of money to them; 
but bad seasons, and untoward commercial events, destroyed the prospects 
of both, and the money was consequently lost §. The tax on land, when 
cultivated in Sugar, is £2. 2s. 9d. sterling per acre ]|, and the expense 
of cultivating one Begah, or 1600 square yards of land in Sugar, is 20 
Sicca Rupees, or 46s. Sd. sterling. Hamilton in his survey, says the expense 
of cultivating canes, is considerably greater than in cultivating grain, and 
whenever .Sugar is to be raised, the rent is high. The same field which 
when it is cultivated in grain pays one Rupee rent, pays five Rupees 
when cultivated in Sugar. In proportion to the Sugar land in the dis- 
trict, the rent is high. The farmers who cultivate Sugar, are not richer 
than those who cultivate grain $ . In the district of Nundydroog (Mysore) , 
Dr. Heyne states that the Red cane is cultivated, but it cannot be 
produced a second time on the same field. The cane impoverishes the 
land so much, that they do not account it a profitable article of culti- 
vation **. 

Produce of their Mills. &c. 

The mill goes night and day, worked by two bullocks at a time, which 
are changed every two hours, or after their labour has produced twelve 
gallons of juice. These bullocks do no more work that day. The mill 

* Report, 1st. App. p. 80. f Report, 1st. App. p. 211. X Report, 
3rd. App. p. 12. § Report, p. 126, Bengal Board of Trade, 25th. Sep. 
3792. H Report, 3rd. App. p. 20. \ Report, 1st. App. p. 126, 

and Report, 3rd. App. p. 24. ** Report, 3rd. App. p. 38.. 



24 



cording to the quality, and according to the 
distance the districts which produce Sugar, 
are from the port of export, by which the car- 
expresses about 7,000 Canes, which produce about 218 ale gallons of juice 
in 24 hours, which juice yields about 1 \ cwt. of sugar (Jagory). Four- 
teen bullocks are employed about the mill, and seven men attend the 
works during the process of boiling*. In other places the mills do not 
produce so much. A cattle-mill will produce, says the Report, page 100. 
from 75 to 80 lbs. jagory per dayf. Hamilton, in his Survey, informs us 
that 16 men and 20 oxen assemble in one place from the neighbourhood. 
The whole work night and day in cutting, carrying, grinding, and boiling 
the Canes and Cane juice. The juice is boiled till reduced to one sixth. It 
is never scummed. The labour of these people, and the 20 oxen, produce 
in 24 hours only, 476 lbs. inspissated juice, or about 1 cwt. of sugar. 
A begah, one-third of an acre, produces 168 mons — 13,891 lbs. Cane, 
which yields 14 mons — 1,159 lbs. " pot extract." A mill with eight 
men and 12 oxen clear half an acre of Cane in 12 days, working 12 hours 
each dayj. And Roxburgh states, that a mill which goes night and day 
expresses 7,000 Canes, which produce 14 maunds jagory — 7 mau?ids 
raw, or H cwt. Sugar, At Chinapatam, the mill in 24 hours produces 
three boilings, each about 1 cwt. Jagory — about 90 lbs. Sugar§. 

The same quantum of labour would, in the West Indies, produce ten — 
twenty times the quantity of Sugar. A six-horse power steam engine; 
equal to the power of 30 men, would squeeze 300 gallons of liquor in less 
than an hour. Forty negroes, six mules, and 4 cattle, cut, carry, cart, 
grind, boil, and complete the manufacture of 30 cwt. of Sugar in 14 hours. 

Produce or Sugar per acre in India. 
The two kinds of Cane that are cultivated in Hindostan are, the purple 
or Batavia Cane, the hardest and containing the least quantity of juice, 
but most sweet: the white cane, the softest, which contains the greatest 
quantity of juice, but least sweet||. Sugar is also made from the date tree, 
which produces juice by incision after it arrives at the age of ten years. 
The produce of an acre of land varies very considerably. The Bengal 
Board of Trade state it to be from 4£ to 15 cwt. but the average may be 

* Report, 3d, App. p. 11. f Report, 1st, App. p. 100. 

J Report, 3d, App. p. 23 & 24. § Report, 3d, App. p. 13 & 14. 
|| Report, 1st App. p. 75. 



25 

riage and expenses attending the transporting 
of it are more or less enhanced. The expense 
of bringing Ganjam Sugar to Madras, the export 

taken at 10 cwt*. Buchanan estimates it to be in some places 13s cwt* 
Nine cwt. he states, is considered a bad, and 15 cwt. a good crop. The 
Cane ought not to be cut in less than 12 months from the date of planting. 
A crop from ratoons is seldom taken j when it is, it is always poor and 
trifling. The fields are watered by labour, and are exceedingly liable to 
be scorched by drought. A calagu of land (1 l-5th acre) requires by one 
account 18,000, and by another 50,000 plants. Sometimes the land is 
manured, and a second crop taken, but in general two crops of rice 
must intervene between every crop of Sugar. Thirty-seven gallons of 
best juice, makes 1 cwt. jagoryf. Roxburgh states that half a vissum 
(one acre) yields in a good season 10 candy of Sugar, each candy 500 lbs. 
and worth, on the spot, from 16 to 24 rupees, according to the demand. 
One-sixth part forms GhoorJ, A candaica of land, equal to 3,876 of an 
acre, produces 21,000 Canes. The value of produce Sugar per acre is, on 
good land, from £5 .. 1 7 to £2 .. 18 .. 6 §. An acre , says another account, 
produces 15 cwt. Raw Sugar (that is jagory), worth £22 ..15, but one- 
third must be deducted for the expense of manufacturing, which leaves 
£15..3..4||. 

The poverty of the soil is clearly shewn from the number of plants re- 
quired, from 18,000 to 50,000 per acre. In the West Indies it varies 
from, 5,500, to 8,000 per acre. Poor land requires most. In ordinary 
land, and in Plant Canes, an acre will produce above 32,000 Canes 
from six to twelve feet long (strong soils produce much taller) and 
which yields in Sugar from 30 to 45 cwt. Eighteen hundred gallons 
of raw juice will, upon an average of the crop of sea-side estates, make 
17 cwt. (1,904 lbs.) Sugar, exclusive of molasses, so that in every respect 
West India cultivation and management are infinitely superior to the cul- 
tivation and management in the East Indies. 

Price of Jagory in India. 

Jagorv sells in many places at 6 s. 4t\d. per cwt. and one acre fre-* 
quently yields only 8| cwi% Jagory, produced from a wet soil, sells at 

* Report, 1st, App. p. 100, 102, 103. 
f Report, 3d, App. pages 4, 10, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 18. 
t Ibid. ' § Ibid. || Ibid. 

<fl Report, 3d, App. p. 15. 



26 



port, is 7s. 8d. per cwt. freight, and 2s. Scf. 
extra charge for packing it in boxes. The ave- 
rage price at the latest dates from the Calcutta 

8$. 0%d. and that produced on a dry soil at lis. 9%d. per cwt.* At 
Killamalgalam, the price of Jagory is 11 s. 4d.7-10ths. per cwtf. At the 
lowest price, the quantity of Sugar produced is scarcely one-fourth, and in 
the higher and finer quality under one-half. 

Prices of Sugar in India, &c. 

In 1791, the prices at clearing the warehouses were, viz. 

Benares Sugar - - - -£.0174 per cwt. 
Rungpore do. - - - - - 17 6\ — 
Soonamooky - - - - - 103 — 
Radnagore 16 1? — 

Exclusive of all expenses in India for carnage, shipping, &c. about 20 

per cent, on prime cost. It is remarkable that Sugar is lowest in the 

provinces where strongest grained X- 

The collector of Ganjam district reports the price of Sugar there to 

be, viz. 

1st kind, per cwt. - - - - £.1 10 85 
2d do. — - - - - 15 7 
3d do. — 1 5£§ 

From the Report of the Bengal Board of Trade, July 22d. 1793, it 
appears that 7,117 tons Sugar, purchased and shipped to England, at a 
time when war had made no advance in the price of materials for culti- 
vation, cost 2,343,314 Rupees, about £.234,331, nearly 33*. per cwt. 
(Rupee th^en 10 p. c. more.) At a subsequent period, the prime cost and 
charges of 4,540 tons shipped to England, amounted to £.222,249 11*. 
and which, if sold at 50*. per cwt. would bring L.222,388, leaving only 
£.138 9* of profit I! . 

The Java Sugar differs from the Bengal Sugar very materially, both in 
quality and process of manufacture, the latter being carried on upon the 
same extensive system as in the West Indies. It is principally exported 
to Japan and Europe, but considerable quantities are sent to the Malabar 

* Report, 3d, App. p. 12. f Rep. 3d, App. p. 20. 

X Report, 1st, App. p. 56. § Rep. 1st, App. p. 250. 

It Report, 1st App. p. 222, 249. 



27 



market, may be taken about 22s. per cwt in the 
warehouses, and the official report accordingly 
states it last year at 21s. 4tf. At different 
periods, however, the Company paid as high as 
25s. and 35s. per cwt. in India ; so high in fact, 
that when sold in Britain at 50s. exclusive of 

coast. It is greatly superior to Hindostan Sugar in quality. Although 
there is a great number of slaves (40,000) in Java, yet the cultivation of 
the cane is chiefly carried on by free labourers, who are hired at the 
miserable pittance of two dollars per month ! The production of Sugar 
is on the increase in Java. The quantity manufactured was, viz— 
In 1799 30,131 peculs 

1800 ----- 106,513 — 

1801 107,498 — 

1802 94,903 — * 

The prices in Java, China, and Bencoolen, have already been noticed, 
and it is unnecessary here to repeat them ; they are taken from the same 
authority. Considering the superior quality, they are greatly cheaper 
than Indian Sugar. 

Charges on Sugar in India. 

Additional charge for packing in boxes, Is. 7%d. per cwt. 

Boat hire to ship Id. . — 

In 1792, when prime cost was £.26 10s. the Company charged 20 per 
cent, or £.5 6s. for charges previous to leaving the Indian port ; and at 
that time they state Sugar cost them, landed in England, 55s. IQ^d. ex- 
clusive of interest of money, insurance, and wastagef. An official letter, 
dated Madras, 2d March, 1798, states that the charges on Ganjam Sugar 
from purchasing in the district till shipped, were 10s. lid. per cwt.; the 
wastage in the voyage 7 per cent, and on other Sugars 4 per cent.+ 

Expenses of conveying to England. 
In 1792, the freight charged was £.26 10s. per ton; in 1793, £.15 per 
ton ; in 1798, £1 4s. 5d. per ton ; and in 1816—17, and 1817—18, 10s. 
per ton, as dead weight — charges in England 3s. 9d. per cwt.§ 

* Report, 3rd App. ps. 39, 89, 91, 92, and 93. 
t Report, 1st App. p. 43, 56, 71, 250. J Report, 2d App. p. 23. 

§ Report, 1st App. p. 56, 240, 252 ; 2d. App. p. 23 ; and 4th App. p. 44. 



28 



duty, it barely cleared cost and charges. When 
brought to market in England, Sugar for a series 
of years during the war, cost the Company 
55*. 10^d. per cwt., exclusive of interest of 
money, insurance, and wastage. 

Having considered the price of Sugar in Hin- 
dostan, it may now be of importance to consider 
what the value of it is in other countries in the East. 
The Sugar produced in Java alone, is equal to 
that produced in Manilla and the West Indies. 
" It can be brought to market at about the 
same price." The price of the first quality, 
equal to Jamaica, is 25*. per cwt. It is chiefly 
cultivated, says Sir Stamford Raffles, by the 
Chinese. From Mr. Crawford's account of the 
Eastern Archipelago, it appears that Sugar at 
that time could be produced at 8*. 4d. per cwt. 
The price, however, to the European Merchant 
at the shipping port, " as purchased from the 
Planters," was best white, from 5 to 6^ dollars, 
and brown, from 4 to 4J dollars, per pecul of 
1361bs. avoirdupoise ; and it is sold to the ex- 
porter, white at 8 dollars, and brown 6 dollars 
per pecul. The Dutch carry Java Sugar to 
Japan where none is produced, and sell it there 
at 20 Spanish dollars per pecul of 1251bs. Good 
marketable Sugar costs, in Bencoolen, from 4 
to 5 dollars per pecul; and the price in China 



29 



is, from 4 to 6 tales (6*. $d. each) per pecui, 
about 28s. the cwt. 

Such are the prices of Sugar in Hindostan, 
and in other countries which produce Sugar in 
the Eastern world. The freight and charges in 
the transporting of it to Great Britain, is the 
next object meriting consideration. In 1791, it 
appears the freight was 26s. 6d. per cwt. ; in 
1793, 15.?.; in 1798, 24s. 5d.; and in 1816 and 
1817, when charged and carried as dead weight, 
10s. It is also subject to other charges, such 
as insurance expenses and commissions, at ship- 
ping, wastage from 4 to 7 per cent ; and the 
mercantile charges in England upon effecting 
sales, &c. in the market, at least 4s. per cwt. ; 
while the wastage and other charges cannot fail 
to amount to as much more. From Parliamen- 
tary Paper, No. 70, Session 1823, it appears 
that previous to 1815, the freight and charges 
to Britain, upon Sugar, is generally one-half 
more than the prime cost, and sometimes double. 
Even at this moment, the regular freight and 
charges from India to England alone, cannot be 
less than 18s. per cwt. It is possible it may, 
for particular reasons, cost less ; but to make 
the transport of it a saving trade, it ought not 
to be less, nor even so low. Carrying it as 
dead weight or ballast for vessels, is not a trade 
that Britain or British Merchants should covet 



m 

or look forward to. To use the words of Mr. 
Huskisson, House of Commons, May 22d., fi if 
once we are to look to any thing like a consider- 
able supply, we must freight ships in the regular 
way ; when a considerable addition would be 
made to the price." This is such a self-evident 
fact, that though Mr. Cropper and the critic 
in the Edinburgh Review, may think fit to 
despise or overlook it, the people of Great 
Britain must take this into their calculations. 

In the speech already referred to, Mr. Huskis- 
son stated, that the largest export of Sugar from 
India, in any one year, was 11,000 tons, viz. 
7000 tons to Great Britain, and 4000 tons to 
other parts of the world. This was in 1795. 
The average of 1816-17 and 1817-18 (the two 
years when it is believed the export was greatest) 
exceeded this, and amounted to 14,604 tons, or 
18,255 hhds. of 15 cwt, each*. This was the 

* Export Sugar from Bengal, Rep. 4th App. p. 45. 

1816-17. 1817-18. 





Tons. 


Value. 


Tons. 


Value. 


Great Britain 


5,129 


10,43,713 Rs. 


5,663 


12,49,012 Rs 


Foreign Europe 


716 


1, 54, 166 


1,222 


2,91,841 


United States 


4,802 


10,45,989 


5,082 


12,55,450 



To Arabian and Persian Gulphs, 1819-20, exports 787,600 rupees, say- 
£80,000, or 3200 tons, at £25 per ton.— Rep. 1st, 1st App. p. 62, 63. 

Imported into England from India, 1817. . 6,098 tons 

1818.. 8,029 - 
1819.-10,055 - 
1820.. 13,861 - 

Parliamentary Paper, No. 442, Session 1821. 



31 



utmost effort of India, and, on that supply 
brought to Britain, it is well known there was a 
great loss, notwithstanding the low freights. 
Why India does not export more Sugar, the 
East India Company can tell if they please. 
Except to Britain, the market of the whole world 
is open to them, which neither is nor ever was 
the case to the West Indies, and it is well known 
that, in those quarters of the world open to India, 
above 200,000 tons of Sugar are annually con- 
sumed. The fact is, the East India Sugars are 
beat out of every market in the world by Sugars 
of a superior quality and cheapness, produced 
by other nations and by the colonies of other na- 
tions, whether cultivated by freemen or by slaves. 
The reviewer knows little if he does not know 
this, and Mr. Cropper's sphere of commercial 
knowledge is very limited indeed if the fact is 
not perfectly known to him. 

But while India exported only 14,600 tons of 
Sugar, she imported at the same time from 8,400 
to 10,000 tons, or to the value of 21,03,519 
rupees*, leaving the real export, namely the 

* Imports in to India 1817-18 - - 16,32,380 Rupees. 

1818- 19 - - 25,80,658 — 

1819- 20 - - 22,93,987 — 

average 21,29,008, or about 8,400, tons, at £25, per ton, but this is above 
the Company's valuation, and taking it at theirs would give about 
10,000 tons, 

The exports to United States these years were — average 13,45,142 
sicca Ruppees, say £140,000, or 6000 tons. 4th. App. Report, p. 61-73, 



32 



excess above her import, 6,200 tons., or 7,750 
hhds. Our West India Colonies export annu- 
ally about 190,000 tons, and which, in point of 
quality and strength, is superior in the propor- 
tion of not less than two to three. It is very 
true that the exports from India to England at 
a subsequent period, 1819 and 1820, were 
greater, but it is equally true that the exports 
during these years to the United States, and 
Persian and Arabian Gulphs, decreased greatly. 

The boasted exports, therefore, of Hindostan, 
and even of the whole Eastern world, in the 
article of Sugar, sink into insignificance before 
the exports from the British Colonies in the 
Western world, and it is perfectly evident, from 
natural and physical causes, that the exports of 
the former cannot be materially increased. 

But while the advocates for the East India 
interests are so far wrong about the quantity of 
Sugar which Hindostan produces, or can pro- 
duce, they run into a still more fearful and fatal 
error when they assert that Sugar can be bought 
in India at 5s. per cwt., and sold in England, 
duty included, under 2|</. per lb. The Reviewer 
who is not easily startled at any statement that 
militates against the West Indies, seems for a 
moment to have been staggered at this, and to 
have supposed that there was some mistake, for, 
says he, by Buchanan's Researches, it appears 



33 



that the price of Sugar in some parts of India* 
was 21 s. 4</. per cwt. Adding* to this only 8s. 
Sd, for freight and charges, it makes, continues 
he " the necessary price in the London market, 
30s. per cwt., or 10s. below the price at which 
the West Indians say they can afford to sell 
Sugar of an inferior quality 

As the mercantile charges in England amount 
to 4s. per cwt., the Reviewer allows only 4s. Sd. 
per cwt. for freight, insurance, and wastage; a 
perfect absurdity. By his own mode of calcu- 
lating, the price of East India Sugar was equal 
to the average Gazette price of West India 
Sugar, at the time he wrote ; while what he 
states as the London market price 30s.f for 
East India Sugar, is of itself about 3J</. per lb. 
exclusive of duties. Yet in the very next breath, 
he ventures to tell his readers, that (equal duties 
included) Sugar can be had from India at a price 
" hardly to exceed half the ordinary price$ at 
which it can be obtained from the West Indies," 
which at present does not exceed 6d. per lb., 
and of a much superior quality. His friend Mr. 
Cropper, however, takes a still bolder flight, 

* Edin. Rev. No. 75. p This is a misrepresentation. It was said 
during war, when India Sugar landed in England cost 55*. 
f London Gazette average, January, 1823, 

D 



34 



and wider departure from the fact, when he pre- 
sumes to state, that Sugar, equal to West 
India Sugar, can be bought in India at 5s. per 
cwt., and including duty, freight, and charges, 
can be produced in the English market at 16s. 
to 18s. per cwt. # , which is " under 2^d. per lb. ! " 
Into such absurdities do men wander when they 
want to accomplish a favourite object not con- 
sistent with fact. If such were the price given 
to Mr. Cropper's miserable free Hindoo farmer, 
how many British manufactures could he buy? 
what price could he afford to give for them? If 
Mr. Cropper cannot, a school-boy — -an Eboe 
negro, one of the dullest of his u African Bre- 
thren" could answer the questions. None ! 
Nothing! His acre of canes would not yield 
more than 50s. per annum, which deducting for 
rent, one third, and next the estimated expense 
of cultivation, would leave a sum scarcely suf- 
ficient to yield him, in droughts such as fre- 
quently visit India, water to drink, without any 
other necessary whatever. 

Taking the price of Sugar according to the 
present demand, it is evident, from the shewing 
of the East India Company themselves, that the 
price of India Sugar in England, as a fair and re- 

* Liverpool Report, pages 48 & 49, 



35 



gular article of trade, would stand at 38s. per c wt *. 
Besides, as the demand increased, the price would 
increase ; and were the West Indies to be blot- 
ted from the map of the world, and the people of 
Great Britain reduced to look to, and depend 
upon Hindostan, for a supply of Sugar, they 
would soon find they would have to pay 8$. or 
9s. per cwt., at the very lowest, for freight. 

Even Mr. Cropper in the midst of his reverie^, 
is compelled to look forward to this fact. % Such 
an unnatural state of things cannot continue. 
The freight," says he, page 30, u will be regu- 
lated by the distance, and expense of navigation. 
The low freights," continues he, page 31, " which 
have been paid from the East cannot continue, 



* Prime cost in India - -- -- £120 

Shipping charges, say only - - - Oil 

Wastage, 5 per cent. - -- -- Oil 

Commission — India - -- -- Oil 

Insurance on cost and freight, 2\ do. 10 

Freight - -- 080 

Mercantile charges in England - - 4.0 

Cost at market - 1 18 1 



The following was the value of Sugar from India in 1819, as paid by 
a highly respectable commercial house in this Country. 

In chests, at 9 .. 6 Rupees, per Bazar maund. 
In bags, at 9. .6 to 10. .10 Rupees do. 
Charges, packing, 5 per cent. 
Commission India, 5 per cent. 
(Casks and Chests cost 6 per cent, charges, bags less.) 
Benares Sugar, from 10 to 10. .8 Rupees, including freight and charges, 
the Sugar stood 42*. per cwt. landed in Great Britain. — Mr. Cropper, I 
have no doubt has similar invoices. 

d2 



NOT BEING AN ADEQUATE REMUNERATION TO THE 
SHIPOWNER." 

Considering these facts, it cannot fail to ex- 
cite surprise, to hear the Reviewer (following 
Mr. Whitmore's statement) assert, page 214, 
that the exclusion of the cheap East India Sugar 
from the British market, is u a bonus to the West 
Indians, which could not in ordinary years be 
estimated at less than two millions ; and all this 
two millions of a bonus" continues he, p. 217, 
" to bribe a parcel of slaveholders to continue in 
a losing business." Mr. Cropper echoes the same 
opprobrious assertion, and the same false calcu- 
lation. How false, it is not difficult to shew. 

Two lbs. of West India Sugar, are on all hands 
acknowledged to contain as much saccharine 
matter as three lbs. of East India muscovado. 
As the consumption of West India Sugar in 
Great Britain and Ireland, is in round numbers 
3,000,000 cwts. annually; if East India Sugar 
was substituted in its stead, the calculation 
would stand as follows : taking the price on the 
average of three years, according to the East 
India returns, viz. 34s. 4</. # 

* 1820-21 £ 1 14 

1821- 22 - •- ^ - 1 .5 6 

1822- 23 ----- I 11 6 

Par. Paper, No. 313, 3 ) 4 11 

Sessions, 1823. £ 1 10 4 



37 



East India Sugar. 
4,500,000 cwts. at 34*. Ad. \ - on KArt 

as shewn below / * 7,729,500 

Do. duty 27 s. 6,075,000 

Supply of Great Britain £ 13,805,000 

West India Sugar. 
3,000,000 cwts. at 34s. the") * . . ftft nftA 
present Gazette price. J xo,iuu,uuu 
Do. duty 27.?. 4,105,000 

Supply of Great Britain £9,205,000 



Annual Loss £4,600,000 

instead of a gain of two millions, by substituting 
East India for West India Sugar, from which 
may be deducted the freight and charges of 
^1,050,000, on the additional 75,000 tons requir- 
ed on account of the inferiority of the article. 

But to place the matter upon the standard of 
their own calculation, and allowing the quality 
of East India Sugar to be equal to the quality of 
West India Sugar, (Parliamentary Paper, No. 
313, of last Session) a return furnished by the 
East Indians themselves, sets down the price of 
Indian Sugar, landed in this country, exclusive 
of mercantile charges, at 31s. 6d. per cwt 
adding the mercantile charges, 4s., the price 
would be 35s. 6d. per cwt. then the result 
would be : — 

3,000,000 cwts., at 35*. 6d. is £.5,325,000 

duty 27s. 4,105,000 

£.9,430,000 

3,000,000 cwts. West India Sugar, cost and duty 9,205,000> 



Loss - - - - - - £. 225*000 

n 3 



38 



But when we reflect that, during the last three 
years, the gazette average price of West India 
Sugar has not exceeded 30s. or 31 s. per cwt. ; 
it is obvious that, by the use of that Sugar, the 
people of Great Britain, instead of a loss, have 
paid ^675,000 less. 

Did the Chancellor of the Exchequer wish to bur- 
then the people of this country with ^2,025,000 
additional taxes annually ; he would only have to 
do what the Reviewer recommends, namely, to 
substitute East India Sugars for those of the 
West Indies, in the market of Great Britain. 

The Edinburgh Review (and its associates in 
this system of delusion) may write, boast, and 
assert, as long and as much as they please, but 
till they can make East India Sugar equal to 
West India Sugar, they can never render it 
equally advantageous for Great Britain to re- 
ceive the former instead of the latter. And this 
improvement they never can effect till they 
adopt, if they can adopt with effect, the same 
mode of cultivation. That such a system of 
cultivation can be established in the East, is 
more than problematical. It has been tried, and 
has failed again and again, after the strongest 
encouragement and support. These facts, the 
Reviewer and his friends conceal and pass 
over. They tell us what the East India Com- 



39 



pany and their servants at one time thought and 
speculated upon, but they do not tell us the 
result, the consequences of these speculations 
and experiments, when put to the test, under 
the support and the power of the Masters of 
India. 

In the month of February, 1791, Lieutenant 
Paterson, succeeded in persuading the East 
India Company that he could, after the West 
India mode, cultivate Sugar most advantage- 
ously in India. The Company assented to his 
proposition, and agreed to purchase the Sugar 
he raised at a fixed price. He proceeded with 
his scheme, but was soon obliged to apply for 
a loan of money. This the Company granted 
under security. All his schemes, however, fail- 
ed, and where his securities could not pay, the 
Company lost their money. After the desola- 
tion of St. Domingo had raised Sugar to a very 
high price, the Company made every exertion 
to procure supplies from India. They encour- 
aged the system of West India cultivation, and 
advanced money to the Ryots to enable them to 
bring forward larger crops ; the efforts were un- 
availing. The most marked results were those 
stated by the Bengal Board of Trade, 25th 
March, 1795, the demand for Sugar for the 
four preceding years had been beyond the sup- 



40 



ply, in consequence of which, great frauds and 
impositions were practised by false packings, 
&c. As late as 1800, individuals persisted, 
under the sanction and aid of the Company, to 
cultivate Sugar on the West India plan. The 
Company even granted to the adventurers a 
monopoly of the market in some districts. But 
all the efforts failed, in consequence of the 
heavy expense attending the erection of mills, 
buildings, and procuring machinery, utensils, 
&c. In particular, the expense of importing 
iron rollers from England, could not be sup- 
ported. While the competition from the 
wretched manufacture, by the Hindoos, drove 
the extensive manufacturer or cultivator to 
ruin ; his attempt, says the Resident at Ganjam, 
Letter, 6th Feb. 1802, counteracted the indus- 
try of the natives, debased the quality of their 
Sugar, and covered whole districts with dis- 
content, wretchedness, poverty, and despair * 

The Reviewer, page 218, tells his readers on 
the authority of Mr. Cropper's report, that pre- 
viously to 1803, the duties on East India Sugar 
were really ad valorem duties, and that in con- 
sequence these were frequently lower than the 
duties on West India Sugar ! ! This is a confes- 
sion could have been scarcely expected. The ad 

* Report, 1st App. pages. 2, 100, 101, 242, 261, 262. 



41 

valorem duty on East India Sugar, was £§7.. 10 
per ton, which shews the price of India Sugar 
upon the Company's lowest valuation, to have 
been <£1..17..6, per cwt. during that period, in- 
stead of 5s. But, since the duty on East India 
Sugar was lower, sometimes, than the duties on 
West India Sugar, how came it to pass that the 
East Indians, with Sugar at 5s. per cwt. or even 
20s. per cwt. did not beat the West Indians, 
not only out of the market of the mother coun- 
try, but out of the principal markets of the 
world, always open to them ? Why, during o 
many years, and these years undermentioned in 
particular, was the Sugar trade a losing trade 
to the Company*? And why is it that in a 

* Parliamentary Paper, No. 70, Session 1823, states of East India 
Sugar, viz. — 

First Year of Import, 



Loss, £.174,689. 





Profit. 


Loss. 


Quantity. 


1791 


£. 1,027 


£. — 


4,017 


1792 


1,748 




3,310 


1793 


4,872 




36,246 


1794 




25,650 


57,583 


1795 




85,495 


154,682 


1796 


18,168 




84,606 


1797 


41,319 




70,891 


1798 


82,164 




138,864 


1799 


16,150 




46,001 


1800 




106,923 


111,070 


1801 




26,370 


55,797 


1802 




56,761 


55,786 


1803 




38,482 


27,141 




£.165,448 


340,131 


846,994 



42 



period of 30 years, they have \tist on that arti- 
cle i?587,975 *? Surely if they could purchase 
Sugar at 5s. in India, which is at least 20s. less 
than the price in the West Indies, they might 
even with an additional duty of 10s. on India 
Sugar, still undersell the West India Colonies 
by 10s. per cwt. and consequently command the 
Market of the Mother country. Let the Re- 
viewer and his friends, if they can, solve the 
question. They are bound to do so, or remain 
silent. 

How often has the Edinburgh Review taunt- 
ed the Statesmen and Merchants of this country 
with the superior commercial knowledge, and 
skill, and patriotism of American Statesmen and 
Merchants. It must be allowed that the Ameri- 
cans are a shrewd commercial people, and tak- 
ing them as such, I should like to hear the Re- 
view and his friend Cropper explain the reason 
why they import only 12,340,000 lbs. of Sugar 
(1,395,458 lbs. of which only, they carry to the 
United States) from India, where it is asserted 
it can be bought at 5s. per cwt., and at the 
same time import from Cuba 52,000,000 lbs. 

* Parliamentary Paper, No. 70, Session 1823. Loss and gain on India 
Sugar from 1790 to 1821, inclusive :— 

Loss £.828,230 

Profit 240,255 

Loss - - £.587,975 



43 



Sugar, for which they pay at least 25s. per 
cwt. * 

" If we suppose" says Mr. Cropper, " the 
consumption to be four times its present rate 
(540,000 tons,) the duty might be reduced to 
one fourth, or 6s. 9d. per cwt ; and this, when 
charged according to value, would probably 
not exceed 4s. to 5s. per cwt. on coarse Sugar, 
such as could be brought from India including 
freight and charges, at 16s. to 18s. per cwt. 
Thus we should have Sugar, duty included, 
costing under 2^d. per lb." from which " refined 
Sugar might doubtless be made so as to be sold 
at bd. per lb. without any loss to the revenue | 
and if the duty were levied according to value, 
Sugar would come to this country precisely in 
that state in which it could be most advantage- 
ously brought t," &c. So, it is an ad valorem 
duty which the East Indians really want ! That 
is, according to their calculation, a duty of 5s. 
per cwt. While East India Sugar was taxed 
at this rate, and West India Sugar at 27s. per 
cwt. there can be no doubt that a great quantity 
of Indian Sugar would be used, because it would 
become as advantageous to the dealer to mix 
East India with West India Sugar, as to mix 
Bohea with Gunpowder Tea. Such a regulation 

* American Official Returns, 1822. 
t Liverpool Report, pages 18 and 49. 



44 



gone into by the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
would be about as beneficial to the revenue, as 
making a bad spirit pay 10s. 6d. duty per gal- 
lon in Northumberland, and a good spirit only 
2s. per gallon in Roxburghshire. 

But softly, friend Cropper, you are not always 
accustomed to calculate thus erroneously and 
absurdly. The stuff you would bring from India 
to reduce the ad valorem duty to 5s. per cwt. 
must be Jagory, five lbs. of which would scarcely 
— would rco£,make one lb. of Sugar after a voy- 
age to Great Britain. Now the consumption of 
this country is of good Sugar, annually, according 
to your own shewing (p. 40,) 151,000 tons. To 
make this quantity of Sugar in England equal only 
to East India Sugar, would require (including 
50,000 tons exported) 1,000,000 tons Jag or y ; 
and to make Sugar containing a quantity of 
sweet equal to what the people of Great Britain 
now consume and export, 1,500,000 tons of 
Jagory would be required, the prime cost of 
which in England, at your estimation of cost, 
charges, freight, and duty, (18s. per cwt. allow- 
ing nothing for the manufacture in Britain,) 
would amount to £27,900,000, instead of 
,£9,205,000, which, duty included, is all that 
Great Britain pays for the West India Sugar 
which she consumes, and about ,£1,700,000 addi- 
tional, which she pays for what she exports after 



45 



refining it. In other words, her expense for 
Sugar would, by your plan be almost trebled. 

Such a trade, at first sight, may appear very 
advantageous to the shipping interest, as re- 
quiring more extensive tonnage, and is no doubt 
that prosperous state which the sagacious Re- 
viewer has in his eye, when he states that trans- 
ferring the Sugar trade from the West Indies 
to the East would be attended with this advan- 
tage, that " double the quantity of tonnage 11 
would be " required to import the same quantity 
of Sugar from Hindostan, as from the West 
Indies * !" Whatever additional tonnage would 
be required, (it would require seven times as 
much,) must, as far as expenditure goes, come 
out of the pockets of the people of Great Bri- 
tain. The truth is, that the argument of increas- 
ed tonnage is as fallacious as the other asser- 
tions. An East India Ship freighted with that 
" black disgusting mass" Jagory, made up of 
ungranulated, or half granulated Sugar, and 
scummings, and molasses, which never granu- 
late, would bring none of it to England — it 
would, if shipped as West India Sugar is ship- 
ped, be all run out and pumped out, by the 
time the ship reached the Cape of Good Hope, 
to which point, if she was not a staunch ship, 

* Edinburgh Review, No. 75, page 221, 



46 



her track might perhaps be traced on the ocean. 
It -may safely be asserted, that the ship which 
brought it would not get prime cost, if in fact 
any price could be obtained for it. Better and 
more profitable it would certainly be, for the 
ship to carry " the sand of the Ganges" 

These things are noticed to shew their fallacy 
and absurdity, and because they are with some 
ingenuity, and by withholding the whole truth, 
plausibly put forward to mislead and deceive 
this country. 

But as the question regarding equalizing the 
duty on Indian Sugar has been settled by the 
wisdom of Parliament ; 1 consider it unnecessary 
at present to enter more fully upon that part of 
the subject. The East Indians assert they can 
undersell the West Indians in the Sugar-market. 
For that very reason the West Indies should be 
protected. The East India Company admit 
that they ought to be so # ; and Parliament has 

* The East India Company are perfectly sensible of this. " Although," 
say they, " the Importation of East India Sugar into Great Britain has 
not done much injury as yet to the West India Planter, it may happen, 
if the price fall much here, that it may interfere materially with the 
West India interests, and in such case, the latter are certainly entitled 
to Legislative Protection ; almost the whole cultivation of the Colo- 
nies in the West Indies is carried on by British Capital and by British 
subjects, who are obliged to receive their supplies from Great Britain, or 
her North American Colonies, and who cannot send their produce to any 
other market than that of Great Britain. As long as the price of Sugar 
continues so high here, it cannot be a considerable article of trade to 



47 



determined they shall be protected. The West 
Indians, moreover, fear, they would guard a- 
gainst, and with all their efforts oppose the 
proposed Violation of their rights, by the in- 
troduction into the code of nations, of a new 
principle, which would leave trade without a 
foundation, and sacrifice the West Indies to- 
day, and the East Indies to-morrow, as theory 
or a momentary interest or speculative advan- 
tages might dictate. National compacts and 
laws, must not be so lightly broken or abroga- 
ted. Under the faith, power, sanction, and en- 
couragement of the Legislature of Britain, the 
present system of cultivation in the West India 
Colonies was established, and by these has it 
been maintained. From the time of their first 
establishment to this day, the Mother Country 
has reserved, for her own advantage, the mo- 
nopoly of their capital, labour, industry, sup- 
plies, and produce ; (she did not do so with 
the East — there the monopoly was for the ad- 
vantage of the India Merchants,) and under 
these circumstances, they are entitled to 
any advantage which she can bestow in return, 

England, even if the duties were equalized ; and in so doing-, the British 
Government would cause a serious injury to the West India Planter, 
while they would not produce an increasing importation of Sugar from 
India." — (Report external Commerce, Bengal, for 1818— App. 4th, p. 46, 
Report.) 



48 

and while justice and policy — while the glory, 
honour, strength, and resources of the British 
Empire are held in view, and maintained by 
the Legislature and Executive Government of 
Britain, these possessions must continue to be 
protected and upheld. 

Mr. Cropper and his worthy coadjutor the 
Reviewer, when it suits their views, ridicule, 
and would set aside x\cts of Parliament. " The 
vested rights to which the West Indians have 
so confidently adverted, has no other founda- 
tion whatever, than the Acts of Parliament, 
restricting their intercourse to the Mother 
Country*? And where, or how, in the name 
of common sense, can they have a better or a 
securer foundation? Does not this very res- 
triction of their trade, a thing never required 
of the East Indies, express as strongly as Acts 
of Parliament can express it, the right to supe- 
rior favour, exclusive privileges, and advantages 
in that market, to which their trade was re- 
stricted ? Most unquestionably it does so. And 
is it at this time of the day to be stated — de- 
manded, that because Great Britain can obtain 
Sugar somewhat cheaper from India, that, there- 
fore, she should abandon possessions, whose 
interests she has, for 150 years, made in all 

* Liverpool Report, page 2L 



49 



tilings completely subservient to hers, in order 
to transfer her favour to possessions, to the in- 
terests of which, the interests of the Mother 
Country are, and have, for a much longer 
period, been made subservient? Yet, such 
monstrous absurdity and injustice are required, 
and clamoured for, from that Legislature, upon 
whose acts and good faith depend the liberties^ 
properties, and lives of every one of us. We 
have no stronger tower to fly to in the hour of 
danger ; and till Mr. Cropper and the critic, or 
their principles, can change that Legislature by 
their ipse dixit — till they can rail the great seal 
of England from the charters of these Colonies, 
and from the Acts of Parliament — till they can 
blot out the records of the nation — banish jus- 
tice from her courts, and judgment from the 
mind of her Senators — neither of them can deny 
these incontrovertible facts, nor break down 
these impregnable barriers. 

The proceedings and conduct of the East 
India Company, at least, the proceedings and 
conduct which go forth to the world as theirs, 
and their advocates on this occasion, are alto- 
gether inexplicable. They must be aware, if 
the principles which they advocate, were to be- 
come the laws of Great Britain, that not merely 
their prohibitory duties, but their monopoly 



50 



Could not stand a day. If this country is to* 
proceed upon the abstract principle of purchas- 
ing every article of commerce where it is to be 
had cheapest, then she must renounce both the 
West Indies and the East Indies, because 
Sugar can be had from every other country that 
produces it cheaper, than from either; and, 
above all, we must look to obtain our tea, &c, 
through different hands than the hands of the 
East India Company. When this Company and 
the East India advocates tell us about the vast 
quantity of land fit for Sugar on the Banks of the 
Ganges, (they omit to state how long— how ill it 
has been cultivated, impoverished, and wasted) 
we are compelled to remind them of the still 
greater extent of better Sugar lands, that there 
is on the Banks of the Oroonoko, the majestic 
Maranon, the Upper La Plata, and the Niger, 
all of them much nearer us than the Ganges* 
or the Burhampooter. 



CHAPTER II. 



East and West Indies — political constitutions totally 
different. — Mis-statements of Mr. Clarkson regard- 
ing the expense of each to Great Britain. — Trade, 
East Indies and China. — Trade, West Indies, — 
Great superiority of the latter. — Deceptions in the 
Parliamentary returns on these heads. — How India 
may be benefitted, and the West Indies not injured. 
Misrepresentations of the Review and Mr, Cropper 
regarding the Indian trade, examined and exposed. 
Trade, United States to Canton almost equal to 
that of Great Britain. — Absurd regulations of East 
India Company, fyc. 

IN their political relations with the Mother 
Country, the British Constitution has raised an 
impassable barrier between the East Indies 
and the West. When British subjects settle 
in the latter, and when they go there to settle, 
they retain or have specially granted unto them 
all the privileges of Britons, namely, to make 
their own judicial regulations through their own 
Representatives, and their Sovereign by his 
Representative ; in one word taxation only by 

e 2 



52 



representation. On this sure foundation the 
fabric of British colonial policy arose in the 
Charaibbean Archipelago, and till the rights of 
Englishmen are overthrown by the strong arm 
of despotism, it must stand, and will stand upon 
the same immoveable foundation. It is British 
residents and capital that cultivate the West 
Indies. The British East India subject stands 
in a very different situation. From the moment 
he embarks for India, nay, even before it, he 
surrenders up every political privilege which 
distinguishes Englishmen from the subjects of 
surrounding states, and yields himself, soul and 
body — bound hand and foot, to the mandates of 
a commercial but governing body, as implicitly 
and completely as any subject of Russia. Their 
authority he dare not even question or scan, or 
if he is bold enough to attempt it in any shape, 
he is sent out of the country without the inter- 
vention of judge or jury. He is not allowed to 
cultivate, possess, or purchase a foot of land in 
India. I do not mean to say, constituted as our 
Government in India is, that this course is im- 
proper. No ! I merely state the fact to mark the 
difference between the East and the West In- 
dies; and yet, with this notorious difference, 
Mr. Clarkson has the hardihood to tell us that 
the East India Company " distribute an equal 



58 



system of law and justice {British ?) to all without 
respect of persons * " 

The Critic, Mr. Cropper, and Mr, Clarkson 
tell us, that while Britain pays all the expense 
t)f the West India Colonial establishments, the 
East India Company pay all the expenses in 
India ; " they support their establishments both 
civil and military, at their own expense, They 
come to our Treasury for nothing f, ?5 Really, 
how ignorant Mr. Clarkson supposes the people 
of Great Britain to be ! She pays the whole 
naval force employed in India, and after grant- 
ing the Government and masters of India, pro- 
hibitory duties, and complete monopolies on 
almost every article they trade iu, she sends her 
troops to aid them in overthrowing kingdoms, 
and in placing and maintaining under their domi- 
nion, for their sole benefit and advantage, 
120,t300,000 of people — a country equal to mo- 
dern Europe — a country from which, in darker 
ages, Aurungzehe drew a clear annual revenue 
of 32 millions sterling. — And under these cir- 
cumstances, durst the East India Company 
come forward and require the people of Great 
Britain to pay the military establishments of 
Jndia, while that Company retained the whole 

* Clarkson's Thoughts, &c. p. 57. 
t Ibid. &c. p, 56. 



54 



revenues, commercial and political, and exer- 
cised the power to banish every British subject 
from holding any communication whatever (but 
such as they permit) with any corner of H ju- 
dos tan ? Besides all this, does not the India 
Company owe a heavy debt, and is not that debt 
borrowed from or due to individuals in Britain # ? 

The West India Colonists on the other hand, 
possessing no such imperial powers, revenues, 
and advantages, defray the expense of almost 
all their internal establishments. They assisted 
in defraying the expenses of the fortifications 
which protect them. What is called the home 
salaries of the governors of almost every colony, 
is paid by taxes raised in some of them -f-. Ja- 
maica pays the troops that form its garrison. 

* From Parliamentary Paper, No. 431, of 1823, pages 46, 47, 49, and 



50, it stands thus, viz. : — 

Amount bearing interest annually, - - - ,£33,104,941 
Annual interest thereon, ------ 2,008,050 

Total debts in India, - -- -- -- - 39,533,655 

Grand total Assets, - -- -- -- - 25,723,283 

Grand total of Debts, 40,939,005 

Excess of Debts territorial, - 22,937,596 

Excess of Assets territorial, ------ 4,503,457 

Net excess of Debts territorial, - - - - 18,434,139 

Excess of Assets commercial, ----- 3,218,417 

Net excess of Debts in India, - - - - ^15,215,722 



f See Appendix A. for a particular account of both the receipts and 
expenditure of the 4j per cent. tax. 



55 

Demerara pays a considerable part of a similar 
expense; and a demand is made that every 
Colony should pay the expense of the garrison 
which protects it. At their own expense the 
free inhabitants of the Colonies, as militiamen, 
arm, support, and defend their properties, and 
the British dominions. The statement of Mr. 
Clarkson, therefore, both regarding India and 
the West Indies, is not only most partial, but 
grossly wrong in its most important points*, 

" The exaggerated statements," says the Re- 
viewer, K of the importance and value of their 
commerce to the empire, put forward by West 
Indians," is not worth noticing-}-. "-The sup^ 
plies which the West India Colonies draw from 
this country," says Mr. Cropper, " consist only 
of clothing and lumber, with some trifling articles 
wanted for their use in the cultivation of the 

* Parliamentary Paper, No. 178, Session 1822, And from a Return 
to the House of Commons, 1823, the whole expenses paid by the Mother 
Country, for the maintenance and support of the Colonies, stands as 
under, viz. — 

Windward and LeeAvard Islands -• - i? 364,000 
Jamaica - - 115,000 

Total - - - - £479,000 

The expense of the navy, is probably about £ 200,000 per annum, or 
altogether an expenditure of £ 700,000 per annum, for the maintenance 
of Colonies, which yield in imports and exports, above fifteen millions 
annually. Where, I ask the Critic, will he find such a trade from so 
little expenditure ? 

f Review, No. 75, p, 220, 



56 



islands # ." In short says Mr. Clarkson it is 
" doubtful, whether your trade is worth the 
having on its present terms -J*." 

In the first place it may be observed that no 
lumber goes from this country to the West India 
Colonies. It is carried there from the Cana- 
das, or the United States. So much for Mr. 
Cropper's commercial knowledge on this point. 
In the second place, official documents are re- 
ferred to, to shew the magnitude and value of 
the trade, both to the East Indies and China, 
and to the West Indies — exports and imports ,* 
and which laid before the reader, will shew him 
the value of such thoughtless assertions as those 
just noticed. 

Trade — India and China. 

Exports for nine years, ending 5th Jan. 1823. 

Great Britain. Ireland. 

Official value. Declared value. Offi. val. Dec. val. 

Total £25,747,776 £33,403,160 £651 £1,484 

Average 2,860,864 3,711,462 none. 
About £ 800,000 annually was for China. 

West India Trade. 



Great Britain. 
Official value. Declared value. 
Total £48,429,184 £46,498,501 



Average 
Ireland 



5,381,020 
434,488 



5,166,500 
434,488 



Ireland. 
Official value. 
£4,267,363 Irish curr, 

£434,488 Brit, do, 



Yearly £5,815,508 
East Indies 2,860,864 



£5,600,988 
3,712,952 deduct 



£2,954,644 
For. W. Ind. 1,257,049 



£1,888,036 
1,257,059: 



£4,211,693 £3,145,095 in favour of the West Indies, 

* Liverpool Report, p. 35. f Clarkson's " thoughts," p. 56, 

X Par. Papers, No. 130 & 246, Session 1823. Appendix, 



57 



It is very true, that the exports to the West 
Indies have considerably decreased. This arises 
from several causes, — -first, the reduced price 
of the articles; secondly, the severe embarrass- 
ments which press upon those Colonies ; thirdly, 
the increased trade between them and the North- 
ern American Colonies, for many articles, such 
as beef, porter, &c, formerly sent from this 
country; and fourthly, from the trade which 
formerly centred in Jamaica, going in a great 
measure, direct to the Spanish Colonies. Still 
the internal consumption of these Colonies, as 
may be seen from the official returns, inserted 
at length in the appendix, cannot be less than 
£ 3,000,000 annually. 

The advantages which our manufacturing in- 
terests derive from the trade to our West India 
Colonies, is best demonstrated by the following 
official returns. The . value of Cotton goods ex- 
ported from Great Britain for eight years, end- 
ing January 5th, 1822, stand as under, viz. 

To Jamaica* - - « - - 15,764,352 

To all Countries east of the Cape of Good Hopef 3,968,632 

Excess - .£11,795,720 

But, says the Reviewer, the Exports " to 
the West Indies are sent only as an entrepot 

* Parliamentary Paper, No. 130, Session 1823. 
f Ibid. No. 457, Session 1822. 



58 



for the Spanish Colonies*/' True, part are so, 
hut still a quantity equal to what has just been 
mentioned, is retained for internal consumption. 
But India is also but an entrepot for goods ; 
and it is an undeniable fact, that the chief in- 
crease in the trade in that quarter, arises from 
the demand for goods for the Indian Archipe- 
lago, but which are compelled to be sent through 
East Indian ports, instead of going direct, as 
they might more advantageously do, to the mar- 
kets where required, and after the same manner 
as the trade which formerly centred in Jamaica, 
now proceeds direct to Spanish America. 

That India is merely an entrepot for the 
greater part of the goods sent to it, is evident 
from the following important official returns ; 

EXPORTS TO INDIA — DECLARED VALUE. 

Company. Free Trade. Total. 
1830. . . . £ 1,721,114 2,308,681 4,029,795. 
1821.... 1,754,652 2,836,007 4,590,659 

1822.... 1,279,021 2,867,056 4,146,077 

Par. Paper, No. 313, Session 1823, 

By a return made to the House of Commons 
by the East India Company, in last Session, the 
sales of goods on their account at Calcutta, 
Madras, Bombay, and Bencoolen> and Prince 
of Wales Island, were as follows, viz.— 

* Review, No. 75, page 220. 



59 



1818- 19 - - £727,945 

1819- 20 - - 623,918 

1820- 21 - - 513,404 

1821- 22 - - 594,890 

Par. Paper, No. 481. 

Which return establishes the fact, that two- 
thirds of the goods exported by the East India 
Company from Britain to India are re-exported 
from that country to other markets. The ex- 
ports by the free trade, it is well known, are 
re-exported from India in a still greater propor- 
tion. The British exports consumed in India 
are almost exclusively consumed by the Euro- , 
peans settled there. 

Let us now contrast the whole trade of China 
and India, with the trade with our West India 
Colonies : 

TRADE — INDIA AND CHINA, IMPORTS FROM. 

Years ending 5th January 1819, official value . . £7,337,689 

1820, .. 7,537,563 

1821, .. 7,562,647 

1822, 9,407,448 

1823, .. 7,868,232 



£39,713,580 



Annual average - - £7,942,716 
Deduct China - - - - 4,551,556 



Total imports from India - - - £3,391,160 

INDIA AND CHINA — PRODUCE EXPORTS FROM BRITAIN. 

Years ending 5th Jan. 1821. 1822. 1823. 

East India - £3,682,194 3,116,809 2,824,459 
China - - 598,377 701,873 627,672 



Total £4,280,571 3,818,682 3,452,131 



60 



WEST INDIA TRADE — IMPORTS. 



Year ending 


Great Britain. 


Ireland. 


Tofeil. 






£454,785 


£8,802,020 


1820.... 


. . 7,887,688 


371,775 


8,269,463 






422,110 


8,433,445 


1822... 


. 8,100,000 


430,000 


8,530,000 


.. 1823.... 


. . 8,100,000 


430,000 


8,530,000 


Total £40,446,258 


£2,108,670 


£42,564,928 


Annual average . , 


.£8,082,251 


421,334 


8,512,987 


Add Imports from For. West Indies, average. . , , 








..£9,319,579 



The imports from the Foreign West Indies 
are fairly added, because in the imports from 
India are articles to perhaps even a greater 
value, which are not the produce of India. 
Thus Coffee comes from Arabia and the Oriental 
Islands, some Cotton (16,000 Bales) from the 
Isle de Bourbon; and Cinnamon, Cloves, Mace, 
Nutmegs, Pepper, some Piece goods, and Nan- 
keens, &c. are included in the imports from 
India, though these come from other places. 

Imports, Produce from West Indies - - £9,319,579 
Do. do. from India - - - - 3,391,160 

Balance, in favour of West Indies - - £5,928,419 

East India Imports.— Duties, 

Years ending 5th January 1821, - - - - 614,272 

1822, - - - r 674,575 

1823, - - - - 743,840 

Total in 3 years, r £2,032,687 

* Parliamentary Papers, No. 274, Session 1822, and No. 313, Session 
1823. The value of Imports from the West Indies for 1821 and 1822, is 
not stated in money in the returns ; but the Imports were greater. 



61 



West India Imports. — Duties. 
Years ending Gt. Britain. Ireland. TotaT. 

5th January 1821, £5,469,907 378,454 5,848,361 

1822, 5,514,245 445,431 5,959,-676 

1823, 5,351,386 424,938 5,776,324 

Total - £16,335,538 1,248,823 17,584,361 

Annual Average - 5,445,179 412,974 5,861,453 
Deduct, East India — — 677,562 

Balance in favour of the West Indies - £5,183,891 * 



West India Produce Exported. 





1820. 


1821. 


1822. 


Sugar Refined 


£1,765,037 


1,973,973 


949,449 


Do. Raw - 


- 838,907 


1<21 6,331 


612,945 


Rum - - - 


- 930,251 


1,106,210 


547,941 


Coffee - - - 






1,200,000 


Cocoa - - - 


- 83,580 


65,765 


99,295 


Sundries - - 






181,611 




£3,717,775 


4,362,279 


3,591,241 



Such is the magnitude and extent of a trade, 
which, Mr. Cropper asserts, is merely made up 
of " some trifling articles," and Mr. Clarkson 
says, " is not worth the having." The exports 
retained for the bona fide consumption of those 
Colonies exceed the exports to both India and 
China, and greatly exceed them, taking into ac- 
count the articles exported through them to Fo- 
reign Colonies. The imports exceed the united 
imports from India and China by ^1,500,000, 
and are triple those from Hindostan; and 
the revenue derived from the West India pro- 

* Parliamentary Papers, Nos. 84, 107, and 313, of Session 1823. 



62 



duce, compared to that obtained from the East 
India produce, is nine times greater. The trade 
to China and India, outwards and inwards, em- 
ploys 212 ships, 143,299 tons, while that to 
the West Indies employs 1672 ships, 440,515 
tons, and 24,148 seamen, more than triple in 
the ships and tonnage, and^ at the least, double 
in the number of seamen.* 

To all these may be added, the very great 

* Parliamentary Papers, No. 84, 107, and 313., Session 1823. 
Here, however, it is proper to mention, that in all these returns from 
China and India, especially the former, there is a gross deception prac- 
tised upon the public as to the value of the imports. The value, as re- 
turned, includes freight and charges till warehoused in England. Thus 
in the year 1820 the imports from China are stated at £4,750,450, which 
sum, with the exception of ,£70,827, was for Tea, Raw Silk, and 
Nankeens, the value of the Tea alone being more than £4,000,000, 
Now the value of the exports from Canton of the three articles men- 
tioned, as given in by the Company themselves to the Committee of the 
Foreign Trade of the Country, was as under, viz. : — 

1819-20 Tea - - 28,476,231 lbs. - - £1,766,530 
Raw Silk 111,432 lbs. - - 98,240 
Nankeens 623,852 ps. - - 144,459 

Total - - £2,009,229 

The prime cost of cargoes in India were as under for the following 
vears. viz. : — 

Total. 



£2,859,894 



Company. 
1818-19 £1,666,946 
1,477,820 
1,534,917 



1819- 20 

1820- 21 



3^4,679,683 



Average - 1, 559^894 



Private Trade. 
The free trade 
is considerably 
less, but I have 
no accurate 
accounts — say 
it is — 
£1,300,000 



63 



trade carried on between the British West In- 
dies and the British Colonies in British North 
America and Newfoundland. The exports and 
imports I have not been able accurately to as- 
certain, but together, these certainly exceed 

The true state of the East and West India imports would therefore 
Stand thus, viz. : — 

West Indies, including foreign, prime cost £9,319,579 
China - - - - - - £2,009,229 

East Indies - - - - 2,859,894 4,869,123 



Excess West India imports ------ £4,450,456 

which is not one-half the value returned in England. Were the West 
India imports to be estimated on the same scale, they would greatly ex- 
ceed what has been stated. Thus the principal articles would at the 
present prices stand thus, viz. : — 

Sugar - - - 3,800,000 Cwts. 34s. £6,460,000 

Rum - - - — 620,481 

Coffee - - - 273,946 — 1,369,733 

Cotton - - - 22,000 bales 330,000 

Cocoa, &c. - — 500,000 



Total, exclusive of Foreign West Indies - - £9,280,214 
N. B. Sugar, by official report last year, only £4,976,860. 

The following official statement of the progressive increase of th? 
West India trade cannot fail to be interesting. 





Imports. 


Ships. 


Tons. 


Duty. 


1701 .. 


738,601 








1715 .. 


1,002,301 . 








1735 .. 


1,487,481 






£ 99,906 


1760 .. 


2,286,110 


404 


60,779 


172,686 


1770 .. 


3,418,823 


610 


89,683 


313,830 


1787 .. 


3,749,447 


573 


131,934 


1,614.689 


1795 .. 


8,881,673 


654 


153,000 


1,667,000 



Report, Committee Privy Council, 1789, Part 4, App. No. 6. The year 
1795, is stated from the speech of the late Lord Melville, March 15, 1796- 



64 



^2,000,000 annually. All this depends upon 
the West Indies. The Mother Country cannot 
supply the Colonies within the tropics with the 
articles these Colonies require from our North- 
ern possessions in America, and no other coun- 
try requires from our North American Colonies 
the supplies which these furnish to the West 
Indies. In this respect the trade between those 
possessions, differs entirely from that carried on 
between India and the Isles in the Oriental 
Archipelago. The trade to the United States 
of America from the West Indies, is to even a 
greater extent than that between the latter and 
British North America # . 

" The East Indians" says the Review, " can- 
not send us manufactured goods, and if we re- 
fuse to take their Sugar, and other rata pro- 
ducts in return, they will be inevitably and un- 
willingly compelled to cease purchasing our 
commodities f." Why they cannot send us manu- 
factures, Mr. Cropper has been kind enough 
to explain. "It is calculated that we have al- 
ready superseded, or are on the point of super- 
seding the manufactures of India, to the extent 

* Thus the exports and imports from Halilax last year to the West 
Indies, according to Halifax returns, amounted to ^250,000. Imports 
at Quebec about £200,000. 

. f Review, No. 75. 



65 

of at least three millions sterling per annum ;" 
the consequences of which are, that # the un- 
restricted introduction of our manufactures into 
that country, together with our underselling 
them in every market in the world r , must de- 
prive of employment vast numbers of people ; 
and until some substitute be found, it must be 
severely felt not only by the people, but by the 
revenue*." The evil was, it seems, most ex- 
tensive. " The greater part of their ships," 
said Mr. Forbes, " are lying rotting in their 
rivers." LC I know" says Mr. Trant, " the dis- 
tressed state of that country, from the falling off 
of the manufactures. In Madras alone, Five 
Factories, employing 18,000 men each, had 
been recently stopped ; and thus in this one in- 
stance, nearly 100,000 men had been thrown as 
a burden upon the agricultural interests f." 

If words have a meaning, these declarations 
tell us, that having by an enormous loss, (for so 
the evidence before the Foreign Trade Com- 
mittee informs us,) little short of ruin to the 
British manufacturer, " superseded," that is 
beat out of their own market, " and every mar- 
ket in the world all the Indian manufacturers, 
and left them poor, idle, and naked ; we must, 

* Liverpool Report, pages 47 and 55. 
t Debate, India House, June 19th 1822. 



66 

in order to procure them food and labour, set 
these Indian manufacturers to cultivate Sugar, 
and to render it a profitable business to them, 
reduce the whole population in the West 
Indies, or connected with those possessions, to 
the same wretched condition to which the East 
Indian manufacturer is now reduced, by our 
cheap manufactures. Could the propagators of 
such dangerous reveries have allowed them- 
selves to think for a moment, they must have 
perceived that a greater insult than the state- 
ments here quoted convey, were never before 
offered to the understandings of a suffering, or 
feelings of a vanquished people. Weak, 
it is feared, must be the fabric of that political 
power that rests upon such a foundation. 

It4s readily admitted that the East India po- 
pulation are entitled to our attention, protec- 
tion, and relief, where the latter is necessary, 
and to the utmost of our power ; but admitting 
this, it remains yet to be shewn, why the West 
In<U6s so cruelly distressed themselves, should 
tye singled out to make all the sacrifice, or make 
good that loss which the British manufacturer 
has occasioned to India? It can, without dif- 
ficulty, be shewn, that other and more effectual 
methods remain to relieve India, without in- 
juring directly any British interest. 



67 



If India is to be relieved and benefitted, and 
her " raw products" exchanged for British 
manufactures, why is not this relief afforded by 
prohibiting the introduction of Foreign Sugar in- 
to India, which would encourage the cultivation 
and manufacture of it in the British Territories; 
or by setting the ci-devant manufacturers of 
India to cultivate cotton ? The land, the climate, 
the capital, the strength, the habits and pursuits 
of the Indian population, are all much better 
adapted to that kind of easy, idle work, then to 
the laborious and more uncertain pursuit of culti- 
vating Sugar. There cannot be a doubt that, 
if proper attention were paid, and encourage- 
ment given, that cotton might be produced in 
India, equal to that which our manufacturers 
obtain from other quarters. Silk, also is a 
production congenial to the soil and climate of 
Bengal, and we pay vast sums for it to Foreign 
nations. Why is not, the cultivation or produc- 
tion of it more encouraged in India? The 
official report so often referred to tells us, that 
Cotton is more profitable than either Sugar or 
grain; that it yields quicker returns, and re- 
quiring less labour, is more agreeable to the ha- 
bits of a poor and indolent people # . This 

* Report, 1st ^App. pages. 74, 99. — Although the cultivation of the 
Cane is more profitable than Barley, it is much less profitable than 

f2 



68 



country imports about 600,000 bales of cotton 
annually, worth about i?7,000,000, sterling, 
from Foreign countries which not only maintain 
slavery, but carry on the slave trade to cultivate 
and extend the cultivation of that article. All 
this, a sum greater, taking nothing into account 
for their increased production of silk, than the 
present united imports of India and China, might 
be taken from the former without injuring any 
British possession. It is to these Britain and 
tjie people of India ought to look for relief and 
mutual advantage. Why Mr. Cropper, who is 
deeply engaged in the trade to the United 
States maintained by Slaves, should not recom- 
mend this plan, or rather, why he should keep 
it altogether out of view, we are at no loss to 
understand ? but, why the Reviewer, who is 
not an American merchant, should pass it over, 
can only be explained, by supposing that he is 
either extremely ignorant on commercial subjects, 
or that he shuts his eyes wilfully against facts 
and justice. 

When the trade to India was, as it was er- 
roneously called, laid open to British subjects, 
the East India Company, and more especially 

Cotton. The latter, comparatively speaking, requires little expense and 
labour. Silk is also more profitable to cultivate than Sugar. 
The Mulberry tree thrives well in Bengal. 



69 



the free traders, boasted how they would supply 
our manufacturers with cotton, to the exclusion 
of the cotton of Foreign Powers. The result 
is known. As Mr. Robertson very justly ob- 
served in the India House, 19th March, 1828, 
from the immense importation of 240,000 bales, 
only a few years ago ; the import last year had 
from the ruinous loss upon the article, dwindled 
down to 20,000 bales, for which there was no 
sale, even at greatly losing prices. It is beat 
out of the market by cotton, raised by slaves, in 
other quarters, and on account of its inferior 
quality and superior prices. The East India 
Sugar stands in exactly the same situation. 

? India goods being light," says the Review, 
" every ship of 500 tons burden, must bring 200 
tons ballast, hut the repeal of the protecting 
duty, would permit Sugar to be brought home 
as dead weight, and consequently relieve our 
merchants from the unheard of necessity of em- 
ploying two fifths of their ships engaged in the 
East India trade, to import the sand of the 
Ganges to England. The American and con- 
tinental traders, are relieved from this burden; 
and if it is continued on those of England, it 
will end, and that at no distant day, by throw- 
ing the whole trade of India into the hands 
of their rivals*." The East India Company in 

* Edin, Rev. No. 75, p. 222. 



70 

their report, 17M, put forth exactly similar 
statements. 

The novel principle here laid down, is, that 
wherever theory and speculation conceive that 
they could drive a profitable trade, any trade 
established, however beneficial, should be de- 
stroyed, in order to render the other secure. In 
order to procure deadweight — freight for Indian 
ships which can find only light goods, the trade of 
the West Indies which has scarcely any " light 
goods? is to be reduced to ballast ! The Re- 
viewer could not possibly have adduced a stronger 
argument against the concession he requires. 

But who is to blame for this " unheard of ne- 
cessity, — this burden from which American and 
continental traders are relieved," namely, that 
British ships are compelled to come loaded, 
" two fifths with the sand of the Ganges ?" It 
is the East India Company. This fact is alto- 
gether kept out of view, though it is the only 
one which bears on the question. 

It is to their unwise regulations, which pro- 
hibit ships of less tonnage than 350 tons, from 
trading to any port or place within the limits of 
their charter, except to a few ports in India, for 
which they must enter from Britain direct, with 
all their cargo. To this absurd regulation, nei- 
ther the Americans nor the continental traders are 
subject. These come from whence they please. 



71 



Go whither they please — and trade as they please. 
British subjects are not permitted to do so. It 
is true, that by a bill passed in the last Session 
of Parliament, ships of any tonnage may enter 
for the Indian trade ; but this boon is completely 
neutralized, by the clause which prevents them 
from trading to any part of the East coast of 
Africa, the Red Sea, and the Eastern Archi- 
pelago, till they have first entered at a port be- 
tween the River Indus, and the Malay Penin- 
sula, within the immediate territory and govern- 
ment of the East India Company. 

Such regulations and restrictions as these 
have driven the trade of the East literally into 
the hand of foreigners. Independent of their 
great trade with Hindostan, the United States 
at this moment, carry on nearly as great a trade 
with Canton, as the East Indian Company do # ; 

* Imports at Canton. Imports at Canton. 

British. American. 

From Europe £1,185,062 Goods and treasure! 10 600 930 

From India, &c. 2,128,745 Dollars I — - — - 

£2,650,177 

Total M 3,313,807 Exports from Canton. 

Exports from Canton. Tea, goods, &c. Dollars 9,041,751 

To Britain £2,091,216 

To India 1,701,405 £2,041,751 

exclusive of direct trade from 

£3,792,621 Canton to Europe,, one item of 

In 17 ships, 21,217 tons. which is . four millions lbs. tea, 

in 46 ships, tons 16,022. 

American trade to India, 1 817-18 Imports to £ 876,268 

Do. do. Exports from 1,446,488 

Parliamentary Papers, and Repoif Foreign Trade Committee; 



72 



every particle of which, as the most competent 
and experienced judges assert, would fall into 
the hands of British subjects, were they only 
placed upon the same footing as the Americans. 

The evidence adduced before the Foreign 
Trade Committees of the Houses of Lords and 
Commons, places these facts in the strongest 
point of view. From that evidence one case is 
selected, which speaks volumes. When New 
South Shetland was discovered, a vessel named 
the Eliza, commanded by Capt. Powell, and for- 
merly a Berwick Smack, was at Rio de Janeiro, 
whither she had gone with a cargo from the 
Clyde. Captain Powell proceeded from Rio de 
Janeiro to New South Shetland, where, in a 
very short time, he caught a great number of 
seals, with the skins of which he proceeded to 
London, where he sold them for 17 s. 6d. each, 
making a most profitable voyage. He proceed- 
ed on a second, and though he caught, in the 
short period of time, from November 29th, till 
the 9th of January following, 18,000 seals, so 
great was the number of adventurers by that 
time in the fishery, that he could only procure 
4s. 6c/. each for the skins in the London market. 
But the greater hardship was, that an American 
schooner fishing side-by- side with him, proceed- 
ed with her cargo (9000 seals) direct from New 
South Shetland, (which the British vessel was 



73 



not allowed to do), to Canton, where she sold 
her seal skins for four dollars (20s.) each, and 
having done so, took in a cargo of tea, and 
other Chinese goods, with which she departed 
for the continent of Europe, and on which she 
would make at least a profit of 100 per cent.* 
The East India Company in their report have 
incautiously adduced a similar instance. The 
Bengal Board of Trade, quote an instance of 
an American ship in 1792, which after catching 
a cargo of fish in the Southern seas, proceeded 
with it to Bengal, where she sold her cargo to 
advantage, and there took in a cargo of Sugar 
for the United States, by which also she made 
a profitable voyage t. 

From this trade, and the mode of trading, 
British subjects are excluded in the East by the 
monopoly and foolish restrictions imposed for 
and by the East India Company ; and before the 
West Indies are sacrificed, in order that India 
may be relieved, it is only just and proper that 
the Company should lay open to British subjects, 
from every quarter, that trade within her limits 
and their charter, which the East India Company 
neither carry on nor want to carry on \ but which 
the " Americans and the continental traders" 

* Evidence of Mr. Powell before Foreign Trade Committee, 
f Report^ 1st App. page 59. 



74 



are permitted to carry on. Let but the East 
Company and Great Britain as they can do, 
and what in honesty they ought to do, lay open 
the trade every where, within the limits of their 
charter, (except the supply of tea from Canton 
to Britain) let them permit British subjects, in 
ships of any tonnage, to trade to and barter as 
they please or find it profitable — let them but do 
this, which can be done without any injury to 
the East Indies or to the West Indies, and then 
British ships and merchants would no longer be 
reduced to the u unheard of necessity" of freight- 
ing their ships to England, or to any other 
place, " two-fifths with the sand of the Ganges. " 

In No. 75, page 210, article East and West 
India Sugar, the writer says that the loss occa- 
sioned by the destruction of St. Domingo was 
made up in 1805 and 1806, " when it en- 
tirely ceased" The whole supply was thrown 
into the home market, u when the price sunk to 
34s. per cwt., a rate which the Committee of the 
House of Commons stated, was barely equal to 
the expense of production." 

With the exception of the latter part, the 
whole of this statement, is at variance with facts. 
St. Domingo, previous to the insurrection in 
1791, produced equal to 140,000 hhds. of mus- 
covado Sugar. Not a tenth part of this was 



75 



made up by extended cultivation, in our Colo- 
nies. The Colonies, however, of the other 
European powers, came into our possession, and 
the produce of the whole was thrown upon the 
British market, by the violent decrees of the 
idol of the critic — Napoleon. These, and not 
the increased cultivation of Sugar, occasioned 
the price to sink so low in the years mentioned, 
namely, to 34*. per cwt, a price which, the Com- 
mittee of the House of Commons justly stated, to 
be barely equal to the expense of cultivation, be- 
cause it was then subject to war freights and 
charges equal to 15s. per cwt. exclusive of war 
charges, for supplies for carrying on the culti- 
vation. When these things are taken into con- 
sideration, it will be found that 34s. per cwt. 
now, is equal to 40s. at the period mentioned; 
and as a further proof that the loss of St. Domingo 
was not made up, the price of Sugar rose in 
1813 and 1814, to upwards of 60s. per cwt. It 
is unnecessary to quote authorities in support 
of these statements. They are fresh in the me- 
mory of all, and it is extraordinary if the Re- 
viewer should have forgotten the facts. 

In page 211, we are told that the distress of 
the West Indies, arises from " over production " 
and that to relieve it, we u must adjust the supply 
of Sugar, proportionally to the effective demand, 



76 



when the price would certainly rise to its proper 
level." To expect relief from any other source 
is " error and delusion. " 

Yet in the face of this " over production," we 
are recommended to follow Mr. Cropper's " pro- 
found" counsel, and set about producing twenty 
million tons more of Sugar in India, and to admit 
the same into the British market, in order to 
relieve the distress of both hemispheres. How 
profound ! And before proceeding further, it 
may be asked, what^would our manufacturers 
and agriculturists say, if they were told to adjust 
their supply to the demand, in order that East 
India Rice, and manufactures, might by way 
of " dead weight" be admitted upon equal 
terms, and more abundantly into this country? 
But the Reviewer, whose memory, on such 
subjects, was never very good, has in his fol- 
lowing page (212) explained the cause of the 
distress of both the East India, and West India, 
Sugar trade, in a few words : — u They cannot 
come in competition with the fertile soils of 
the Brazils, Cuba, and St. Domingo." The 
latter country might have been excepted, for it, 
like India, produces very little Sugar, (not suf- 
ficient for home consumption) and exports so 
little, that it is scarcely worth noticing. But in 
the other two places, the fertile soils and in- 



creased, and increasing Slave trade, have pro- 
duced such a quantity of Sugar, and at such a 
low rate, that not only the produce of the West 
Indies, but the boasted cheap produce of the 
East Indies to which every market is, and 
always has been open, are undersold, and 
driven out of every foreign market. The Re- 
viewer knows little, if he does not know this *, 

* The market of continental Europe, and lesser Asia, remained open 
to them; and from the East India Report, 4th. App. p. 44, 45, 46, it ap- 
pears that the Company confidently expected to carry on a very consider- 
able trade with these parts, but the influx of Sugar from the other side of 
the Atlantic, has completely destroyed their plans. 



CHAPTER III. 



West Indies charged with continuing the African Slave 
Trade. — Refuted from Official Documents. — Fo- 
reign Slave Trade. — Great Extent — extended, not 
diminished. — Ruin to our Colonies. — Wrong Me- 
thod chosen to suppress it. — Sierra Leone. — Immense 
Expense it has cost this Country, — Yields Nothing, 

HAVING by incorrect statements, and the 
misrepresentations which have been above ex- 
posed, led astray the understandings, and raised 
expectations in the minds of his readers that 
can never be realized, the Reviewer, as if aware 
that something was wanting, proceeds to appeal 
to the passions, by recurring to the hacknied 
charge against the West Indies — the Slave 
trade. 

u Free labour," says he, " is at present so 
high in the West Indies, as to hold out an over- 
whelming temptation to import Slaves. It is 
well known that that detestable traffic is carried 



on at this moment, in spite of all that has been 
done to check it, to a greater extent, and under 
circumstances of greater barbarity than ever. 
Nor is it really possible to prevent this traffic 
by mere dint of restrictions.' 1 The real ques- 
tion with regard to the East India Sugar ques- 
tion is, u whether the Slave trade shall be really 
and truly abolished? Whether we shall remove 
the present irresistible temptation to commit a 
crime we have made punishable by death. There 
is, in fact, but one way to put down West In- 
dia Slavery, and that is by allowing the pro- 
duce raised by comparatively cheap free labour 
to come into competition with that raised by 
Slaves. Bryan Edwards," adds the Critic, u had 
no doubt concerning the practicability of ' carry- 
ing Slaves into every island in the West Indies, 
in spite of the maritime force of all Europe. 
No man can hesitate a moment to pronounce 
that an attempt to prevent the introduction of 
Slaves into the West India Colonies, would be 
like that of chaining the winds, or giving laws 
to the ocean/ (Edwards, vol. 2d. page 136). 
And therefore says, the Reviewer, we must not 
trust to Registry Laws, and such devices to 
prevent their importation*." 

The charge here made is as direct and strong 

* Edin. Rev. vol. 39, pages 223 & 224. 



80 



as language can make it, namely, that the Slave 
trade from Africa is, at this moment, carried 
on by our West India Colonies with " greater 
barbarity than ever," in the teeth of laws which 
render it a crime " punishable by death." 

Here things must be called by their right 
names, and without circumlocution I state, that 
the charge is false — a cal ninny without the sha- 
dow of a foundation. Since the abolition in 1808, 
there has not been a single African Slave intro- 
duced illegally into our West India Colonies, 
and the Reviewer and his coadjutors had, or 
ought to have had, before their eyes, the proof 
that such is the fact*. 

* To substantiate this, the following official documents are referred to : 

On the 2d July 1811, the House of Commons voted an address to the 
Prince Regent, praying that he would order an account to be laid before 
them of all seizures made, and prosecutions entered under, and viola- 
tions of the Abolition Laws. In compliance with this prayer, the Go- 
vernors of the different Colonies made their returns, which were, by the 
Prince Regent's command, laid upon the table of the House of Commons, 
July 12th, 1815, and printed by their order. The result of this inquiry 
was, that from the following islands, viz. — Barbadoes, Dominica, De- 
merara, the Bahamas, St. Vincent's, Guadaloupe, St. Thomas, St. Lucia, 
Bermuda, Surinam, Curagoa, Jamaica, Antigua, Montserrat, Grenada, 
Martinique, and Tobago ; the returns to the order were nil, and not only 
so, but several of the Governors go out of the line of their strict official 
duty, to repel with indignation a contrary supposition. 

But on this head a stronger testimony yet remains, and that is the au- 
thority of the British Sovereign. 

Speaking in his name, and by his command, to the Legislature of Ja- 
maica, on the subject of the Registry Bill, the Duke of Manchester says, 



8] 



That the Slave trade continues, and is car- 
ried on to an immense extent by foreign nations, 
is a lamentable and undeniable fact, and the ig~ 

*tW8t^®Ws t&if it .^n($£Tj& in T5)ijs£ii B-&oti 'Hi- 

" he had been especially instructed to give the most satisfactory as- 
surances, that it does not proceed from any impression which his Ma- 
jesty's Government has received of the actual existence of the evil com- 
plained of — no evidence having been brought forward of any systematic 
violation of the abolition laws in the West Indies, nor is it believed 
that there has been any clandestine importation of slaves into Jamaica. 
And," says his Grace, in his communication to his Majesty, in obedience 
to the return alluded to, and ordered by the House of Commons, " No 
violation of the laws passed for the abolition of the Slave trade has 
taken place here;" — Nay more, says the Duke, " I feel that I should do 
the people of this Colony an act of injustice, were I not to express my 
confident opinion, that not only no violation of the abolition laws has 
taken place, but that there is no desire on the part of the plan- 
ters TO INCREASE THEIR SLAVES BY SUCH MEANS." 

Nor is this all. By returns to the House of Commons printed last 
Session of Parliament, Papers No. 89-2; 343-3, containing an account 
of the import and export of Slaves into every Colony since the abolition 
in 1808, as the same is made up by the respective governors and collec- 
tors, there is not returned, as imported or exported, one single Negro 
from Africa, or that had been brought from it in any manner, and to 
any place, during that period. 

But not only has there been no violation of the abolition laws known 
in the West India Colonies, but there is the unquestionable authority of 
Sir George Collier, our late naval commander on the coast of Africa (see 
his Report, given in and printed by order of the House of Commons last 
year, Parliamentary Paper, No. 233-4), to state, that neither British 
subjects, capital, nor our flag, are engaged in carrying on the Slave 
trade to any quarter ; for the trifling exception in the following extracts 
warrants this conclusion. 

" In my Report of last year," says Sir George, " I stated to their 
Lordships my full persuasion, that neither English subjects, capital, nor 
flag, were known in the Slave trade ; in the course of my last year's ser- 
vice, by the capture of the Anna Maria, my suspicions were raised, and 
I regret they were by my absence when this vessel's case was decided at 

G 



82 



Horauce or disingenuity of the Reviewer in not 
stating explicitly and candidly this fact, is most 
reprehensible. The continuation of the trade 
is not a matter of surprise, it was clearly fore- 
seen and predicted, that such would be the re- 
sult whenever the abolition took place by this 
country ; but this prediction was scorned and 
ridiculed by the Reviewer and his associates. 
Day after day, the fact that the Slave trade 
with Africa was vanquished by the British abo- 
lition was loudly proclaimed by a party in this 
country, whose words and declarations it is 
heresy to doubt or dispute, till the broad and 
undeniable fact, that the Colonies of foreign 
powers, formerly wildernesses, were rising into 
opulence from being cultivated by Slaves, and 

Sierra Leone, neither confirmed nor removed; her owner was clearly 
shewn to be connected with the house of Messrs. Hutton and Bright, of 
Cuba ; her supercargo bore the name of Matthew Smith, but, when it 
suited, he had a Spanish name also ; several circumstances gave strong 
suspicion, but I had no means of investigation after the condemnation of 
the vessel. 

" With the exception of this case, of that of George Gardner, a mate 
of the Anna Maria, who confessing himself an English subject, was left 
for trial at Sierra Leone, and of two or three English seamen I found in 
the Slave vessels, induced, as they said, and as I believe, to embark in 
the understanding that they were only to cruise under the colours of 
Artegas against the Spaniards ; I had no reason to suspect a British 
subject engaged or concerned in the Slave trade." 

It would be to insult the good sense of the reader to multiply autho- 
rities or quotations farther upon this topic, after such clear and unim^ 
peachable testimony. 



83 

that these Colonies were exporting as much pro- 
duce as the whole of our trans-atlan tic Colonies; 
convinced the world that the Slave trade was 
in full vigour. Inquiry shewed, that instead of 
being diminished, it was quadrupled ; and now 
the Reviewer comes forward, and tells us, after 
all his schemes have failed, and his predictions 
have been falsified, that " it is impossible to pre- 
vent this trade by mere dint of restrictions." 
Certainly not. In this way Britain has expended 
millions, and brought her own Colonies to the 
verge of ruin, without the smallest benefit to 
Africa, and in this manner she may expend 
millions more, and yet be as far from her pur- 
pose as ever. Why is this so ? Because we set 
down the Slave trade as the cause of African 
ignorance and barbarity, instead of its being the 
consequence thereof— because we still act upon 
this fatal delusion, and have taken no measures 
whatever to introduce amongst the natives of 
Africa that civilization, trade, and commerce, 
which alone can open the eyes of Africa to her 
fatal error, and shew her, without intermeddling 
with any one of her internal customs or pur- 
suits, so as to alarm her mind, or awaken her 
suspicion, that it is more profitable to turn her 
Slave population to cultivate her own fields, 
than to sell them to cultivate the fields of others, 

a 2 



84 

Do this, shew the African powers that you will 
give them more for the produce of the ground, 
than for the hands they may command to culti- 
vate it y and they will put an end to the Slave 
trade themselves. Without this, all the efforts 
of Europe will prove vain to make any impres- 
sion on Africa ; and cutting off all the Euro- 
pean Slave trade, were it even possible to do 
so, will scarcely dry upr one tear of the streams 
that: have flowed for three thousand years, and 
yet flow, to swell the flood of African misery 
and African degradation. 

It was not Europe that created this trade, or 
caused these tears to flow. The trade and its 
miseries existed in all their virulence, and all 
their strength, when Europeans first visited the 
western shores of Africa, and many — two hun- 
dred years before the European Slave trade 
commenced, " The abolition itself," says Go- 
vernor Ludlam (who knew Africa well), in 
his excellent Letter sent to, but suppressed 
for seven years by, Mr. Macaulay, u will not 
prevent the Africans from remaining a savage 
and uncivilized people. To abolish the Slave 
trade is not to abolish the violent passions 
which now find vent in that particular quarter. 
Were it to cease, the misery of Africa would 
arise from other causes ; but it does not follow 



that Africa would be less miserable ; she might 
even be less miserable, and yet be savage and 
uncivilized. This will doubtless be acknow- 
ledged : and it may be asked, why I repeat so 
obvious a truth? I answer, because the wri- 
tings of the abolitionists leave a contrary im- 
pression. They speak of the darkness in which 
we have kept Africa, and of the happiness 
which she may now look forward to, as if it 
were an unquestionable fact, that Africa would 
have been civilized, had it not been for the 
Slave trade : nay, further, that civilization, 
Christianity, and happiness, are now to be 
looked forward to, as the natural effects of abo- 
lition. They say not this in direct terms ; to do 
so would sufficiently expose the absurdity ; but 
it is an obvious, and sometimes an unavoidable 
conclusion, from what they do say. Those who 
are more cautious, speak as if a friendly inter- 
course with the Africans must naturally take 
place after the abolition, and as if civilization 
would naturally follow from a friendly inter- 
course : how much nearer the truth to affirm, 
that a self-interested intercourse will take place; 
and that injuries^ retaliations, wars and con- 
quests, will be the natural effects of any inter- 
course. That civilization will follow conquests, 
I more readily allow # , ?J 

* Letter, Ludlam to Macaulay, 14th April 1807. 



86 



It may be of importance, and is not foreign to 
the subject, to place before the reader the pro- 
digious extent to which the Slave trade is still 
carried on, and the enormous and useless sacri- 
fices which Great Britain has made to put an 
end to it. 

" In the short space of 18 months" says Sir 
Robert Mends, u there sailed from the four 
Northernmost rivers in the Bight of Biafra, 
424 vessels, many of them carrying from 500 to 
1000 Slaves ; but by allowing the very moderate 
average of 250 to each vessel, it will make 
106,000 Slaves." From Bonny river alone, 126 
vessels sailed in four months ; and from Came- 
roons, 177 ! " Vast as this is" says Sir Robert, 
" it falls infinitely short of the reality, as many 
ships have sailed with full cargoes from other 
places to the Northward of the line, of which 
we have no account. Great numbers are also 
transported from the main to the island of St. 
Thomas, and Prince's, and thence to the Brazils. 
Equal in extent to all these shipments, are 
those made to the Southward of the Line, of 
which we have no correct knowledge, but where 
no interruption whatever is given to them*." 
Sir Robert proceeds to state, that so far from the 

* Sir Robert Mend's Despatch, June 26, 1822, pages 8 and 9, Parlia- 
mentary Paper, No. 556. 



87 



Slave trade being diminished " the reverse is 
the fact" It is carried on with u fearless im- 
pudence by the subjects of France, Spain, and 
Portugal, and a lingering disposition to favour 
this commerce exists amongst the natives along 
the whole line of coast, with the exception of 
Sierra Leone." The beneficial effects which 
were predicted from this settlement of free 
people, have totally failed. At G allenas, only 
one hundred miles from the settlement, says Sir 
Charles Macarthy, "fourteen vessels took in 
cargoes of Slaves, and sailed in four months. 
The trade was there flourishing and carried on to 
a greater extent than it ever had been at 
any former period # ." Every possible encour- 
agement is given to it by the native Princes, 
who ridicule the idea of attempting to put an 
end to itf. " Neither mountains, rivers, nor 

* Parliamentary Paper, No. 556, Session 1823, page 11. 

f " A preference is given to those Slaving ships in trade by the na- 
tives. There can be no effectual prevention of the trade, unless a ship 
of war were anchored at each of the places, which is impracticable. 
The cargo of Slaves is collected ready on shore, and embarked as appears 
convenient. The Slave vessels will embark a cargo of Slaves in two hours. 
Information travels so rapidly from river to river by the creeks of this 
country, that the news," says Capt. Leeke, " of my having taken the 
vessels from Bonny, reached Cameroons a week before 1 appeared off. 
When I strongly urged King Peppel to put an end to the Slave Trade, 
he replied that it was his chief support ; but if the King of England 
would send him annually a seventy-four gun ship laden with goods, he 
would give it up!" — Parliamentary Papers, No. 556, Session 1823, &c< 
Despatches, Sir George Collier and others. 



88 



deserts, will prove barriers to the Slave trade/' 
says Sir James Lucas Yeo, " as the black 
Chiefs will bring Slaves from every part of Africa, 
as long as there is a nation that will afford them 
a Slave market*. 

Such is the state and such the prospects for 
the annihilation of the Slave trade. The ob- 
ject for which Sierra Leone was established, is 
equally unpromising, notwithstanding the gaudy 
colouring thrown over it, and permitted to be 
thrown over it by those whose hobby horse it has 
been. It has lately, by the influence of the Afri- 
can Institution, been made the capital of all our 
African Settlements on the west coast north of 
the line, and the seat of the government; a choice 
from its geographical position, as wise as if Bar- 
badoes were selected as the seat of government 
for Jamaica and Cuba. " Another great objection 
to Sierra Leone," says Sir James Lucas Yeo, 
u arises from its being at such a distance directly 
to the windward of where the Slave vessels are 
captured, which is generally the Bight of Benin 
and Biafra. The vessels are always crowded 
and sickly^ and the mortality in making the pas- 
sage exceeds one tenth. Add to this, the cli- 
mate is detestable, the rains commencing in the 

* Parliamentary Papers about Slave trade, July 17th 1817, page 2. 



89 



end of April, and continuing till the middle of 
October ; it proves the grave of most Europeans 
who go there, and even those who escape the grave, 
linger out a painful and miserable existence. * 

On this wretched ill-chosen spot (of which I 
shall have occasion to speak more fully in the 
sequel), and, in order raise it into notice and 
importance, this nation, and individuals have, 
in one way or the other, expended nearly Five 
millions sterling f ! Yet, notwithstanding all 

* Parliamentary Papers about Slave Trade, July 17th 1817, page 2. 

f From Parliamentary Papers, No. 539, of Session 1821, and No. 177, 
of Session 1822, it appears that the following sums have been paid by this 
Country, viz. 

Portuguese claims for captures - - .£110,882 8 6 

Spain, by treaty 1817 - - 400,000 

Portugal, by treaty in 1815 - - - 348,904 

Do. loan remitted, balance 1815 - - 601,774 7 9 

William Cotton, prize agent, Sierra Leone - . - 3,703 19 10 J 
Bounties paid sundries by treasury - - 54,728 16 8 

Do. by Navy pay-office, till March 1822 - - 273,670 
Bounties for captures above-mentioned - - 65,000 
Interest for sums advanced, cost - - 600,000 



Total £2,458,660 11 11$ 
To this must be added about £100,000 more granted to pay Portugal — a 
long list of unsettled Spanish claims— from £6000 to £8000 per annum 
for several years for Commissioners in various parts to settle Slave cap- 
tures, the expense of £10 for each captured negro for clothing, food, &c. 
&c. the support of ten or twelve ships of war on that part of the African 
station — about £60,000 per annum for several years, the expense of the 
Sierra Leone establishment — the loss of the original capital £240,000, and 
the advance of £100,000 additional by the Company, with all these items, 
we have part of what Sierra Leone and the abolition have directly cost 
this country 



90 



this, the place continues in a most wretched 
state as to trade, commerce, and improve- 
ment. u After all the sums of money" says 
Sir James Lucas Yeo, " expended in its improve- 
ment, it is still in a most deplorable stale. 
Great abuses and mismanagement are said to 
have existed, and certainly to judge from its 
present wretched state, the reports appear to 
have been too well founded." Sir George Collier, 
in 1821, mentions one fact to show its advance- 
ment, when he states that the streets of Freetown, 
the capital, were covered with grass, and the indigo 
plant growing as if in a field # . From first to 
last from 35,000 to 40,000 captured negroes 
must have been carried there, and liberated and 
settled. By the Eleventh Report of the African 
Institution, page 33, we are informed that the 
population in 1816 was only 10,000, I say only 
10,000 persons, because Sir James Lucas Yeo, 
of the same date, states that more than 20,000 
captured negroes had been sent to Sierra Leone, 
of which more than 2000 had perished in the 
voyage up from Leeward. A still greater number 
must have been carried there since 1816. The 
captures since that period have been very 
numerous. In the course of eighteen months, 
ending March 1823, the squadron under the 

* Parliamentary Paper, No, 223, Session 1822, page 15. 



91 

command of Sir Robert Mends carried into 
and liberated in Sierra Leone 4392 negroes *. 
Yet, notwithstanding this remarkable influx of 
population, and the great increase which must 
necessarily be among them where they are free, 
and enjoy the full blessing of the " marriage tie? 
the population of that celebrated colony, ac- 
cording to Mr. Clarkson, is now reduced to 
only 14,000 f. What has become of all the rest, 
exclusive of the Nova Scotian blacks, and the 
disbanded soldiers of the West India regiments ? 
They would not surely leave that paradise. The 
cruelty of West India task-masters, and " a de- 
grading, 'promiscuous intercourse " cannot have 
lessened their numbers and prevented their in- 
crease. What then has become of them ? Tt 
would be desirable so see returns — honest and 
fair returns of the population of that u Grave to 
Europeans " and as it would appear to negroes 
also f. 

* Parliamentary Paper, No. 556, Session 1823. 
t Clarkson's " thoughts," page 17. 
X " There is no doubt," says the Chief Justice of Sierra Leone, 11th 
Report, page 34, " very much to deplore on the score of religion, on the 
score of morals, on the score of manners, or of the social tact, as de- 
rived from both religion and morals ; on the score of depraved but inve- 
terate habits, and of lingering barbarism and tardy improvement, 
in Sierra Leone." These things may in some measure account for the 
decrease. 



CHAPTER IV. 

•^feffftv qui f ;^3ff.t azsaw fnoiM ^koiij/*. 6u Vineg&soac 

Statements of the Anti-colonists that Sugar is cultivated 
in India by free men instead of Slaves. — Not correct. 
— Slaves in India — the cultivators of the soil. — Fe- 
males sold as slaves for the purpose of prostitution. 
This practice common in the East. — Miserable situa- 
tion of the free farmers in India. — Wretched state 
of their Slaves. — The numbers of the latter very 
great. — Hard labour — bad food— herd with cattle. 
— Inflammatory and deceitful statements of the Re- 
viewer, Mr. Clarkson and Mr. Cropper, on these 
points, as directed against our West India Colonies, 
examined and refuted. 

THE next point which merits our serious con- 
sideration, is the bold and imprudent assertion, 
that the labour in India is performed entirely 
by free men ; that there are no Slaves in India, 
and therefore that the produce of that part of 
our Empire should have a decided preference 
over, and meet with every encouragement before, 
our West India Colonies. " Mr. Cropper's 
views on these subjects" says the Reviewer, 
u are equally enlightened and profound*" 
Well, let us attend to them for a moment, " It 

* Edinburgh Review, No. 75, page 224. 



93 



has been asserted,, that encouraging Sugar in the 
East Indies is only employing Slaves in the East 
Indies instead of Slaves in the West. Now, to 
this I give" says Mr. Cropper " an unqualified ne- 
gative. No Slavery does exist in Bengal, or the 
Northern Provinces where Sugar is cultivated *, 5? 
Such are the enlightened and profound views of 
Mr. Cropper. Let us put them to the test by 
superior and better authority. u Slavery" says 
the Reviewer, on the authority of that unim- 
peachable authority, Sir Henry Colebrooke, 
" is not unknown in Bengal. Throughout some 
districts the labours of husbandry are executed 
chiefly by bond servants. In certain districts 
the ploughmen are mostly Slaves of the peasants 
(Slaves of the peasants !), for whom they labour, 
and in some places the landholders have a claim 
to the servitude of thousands among the inhabi- 
tants of their estates f J 

So much for Mr. Cropper's " profound" know- 
ledge. The fact so long, so loudly, and so perti- 
naciously denied, but here admitted ; namely, that 
there are Slaves in India — in Bengal, the greatest 
Sugar district ; shortens my labour greatly in 
being obliged to wade through authorities to 
establish the fact. But says the Reviewer, 

* Protection West India Sugar, page 48. 
W Edinburgh Review, No. 75, page 224. 



94 



these " Bondmen" (softening the expression in 
compliment to East India power and favour) 
Slaves, are not treated with that cruelty and in- 
humanity., that the Slaves in our West India pos- 
sessions are, nor are there " any Foreign Slaves 
imported " into India. Of this I am not so cer- 
tain, and cannot altogether take the word of the 
Reviewer. But as he states the case, it makes 
greatly against the Slavery established in India, 
compared to that established in the West Indies. 
Granting that no Foreign Slaves are imported 
into India, (that is Africans) it is abundantly 
plain, that the population of India make Slaves 
of one another — brother of brother — the father 
of the children — fellow subject of fellow subject, 
a species of Slavery, by far the most degrading, 
pernicious, and the worst that ever scourged 
mankind ; in fact, scarcely ever known amongst 
the barbarous nations which inhabited Europe 
and the parts of Asia contiguous thereto. This 
kind of Slavery was, amongst the Jews, con- 
sidered the greatest crime, and while making 
Slaves of foreigners by purchase was permitted, 
the direct Anathema of the Almighty was di- 
rected against it ; and the frequent violations of 
this law, formed one of the most serious accusa- 
tions brought against his chosen people. The 
practice of it amongst them, as it has done 



95 



amongst every other nation, brought with it fo- 
reign domination, and whenever the population of 
India shall burst the fetters of that ignorance and 
superstition which now degrades them, and shall 
give up the barbarous practice of enslaving their 
own offspring instead of buying foreigners, they 
will from that moment cease to be , I will not 
say " Bondmen, " but servants to the distant 
potentates of Europe. 

But when the Reviewer states that there are 
" no Foreign Slaves" imported into India, he is 
evidently mistaken. There are millions of Ma- 
hommedans in India; and the practice of im- 
porting beautiful young female Slaves to sell them 
for concubines, has always prevailed wherever 
that faith extended. It did prevail in India 
during many ages, and still, I believe, the practice 
is continued. It is to this trade, I presume, that 
Mr. Dixon alluded, at the meeting of the East 
India Directors # , when in answer to some of those 
loquacious members, who were asserting that 
there were no Slave labourers in India, he said, 
he did not think, that importing Slaves to till the 
ground, was worse than selling females for the 
If purpose of prostitution.' 9 Assuming the fact 
that the practice which did prevail in India, still 

* Speech, India House, 25th July 1822. Mr. Trant then admitted 
that " girls were sold for the purpose of prostitution." 



96 

prevails there amongst that part of the population, 
namely, that of importing young, white female 
Slaves for the purpose of prostitution from 
Cashmere, Cashgar, the Bants of the Oxus, 
and the shores of the Caspian Sea, the annex- 
ed sketch of that trade, as practised amongst 
Mahommedaxis elsewhere, may give the reader 
(as Mahommedan customs do not vary) some 
idea of a system of Slavery and of a Slave trade 
which certainly does not prevail in the West 
Indies, and of which they have never been ac- 
cused, but which may be witnessed, under the 
British authority in India* 

* Irby's and Mangle's Travels in Nubia, Syria, &c. " At Hamar we 
witnessed a melancholy scene. There arrived one evening four shabby 
looking, ill-dressed Turks, attired somewhat like soldiers, and an elderly 
knave better clad, though no better Jooking than the others. These 
people brought with them eleven Georgian girls, the remnant of between 
forty and fifty, as we were informed, whom they had stolen or kid- 
napped from their parents on the confines of Georgia ; they were brought 
to be sold as Slaves or mistresses to such wealthy Turks as could afford 
to bid high sums for such unfortunate victims. Those poor girls were 
lodged in the cells contiguous to ours ; they were mostly between fifteen 
and twenty years of age ; two were younger, being about twelve. They 
were all exceedingly pretty, with black sparkling eyes, rosy cheeks, long 
black hair, and very fair Complexions, giving a very strong contradic- 
tion to the account which Volney writes of the Georgian and Circassian wo- 
men, where he says that their fame for beauty arises more from the fancy of 
travellers, heightened by the difficulty they have always found to get a sight 
of them, than from any real merit they possess in this respect I The prices 
which were demanded and offered for these girls is the best proof of the 
estimation in which they are held by the Turks, especially when it is 
known that these, people are allowed a plurality of wives. We were 



m 



The number of Slaves in India is very great. 
Abbe du Bois, a very accurate and intelligent 
writer, and well acquainted with India, tells us 
that all the Pariahs, comprehending one fifth 
of the whole population, 22 millions, are * born 
Slaves!" With regard to their boasted treat- 
ment, and superiority over West India Slaves 
the mere fact admitted and stated by the Re- 
present at the bidding for one girl by a rich Turk, when fourteen purses, 
each purse being 500 piastres (^18), were demanded ; and although he 
offered ten, they would not abate one para ; the poor girl, who was about 
fifteen, standing up all the while, and hearing the disputes about her 
purchase. They were all taken out four different times, and conducted 
through the town to the rich Turkish houses, to be viewed and bid for 
the same as any other merchandise ; and on two occasions considerable 
parties of the principal inhabitants came to our khan, and examined and 
bid for the unhappy creatures at the door of their cells ; they being 
obliged to stand up in a row, while their several merits were discussed 
by the several bidders. We saw several candidates for purchasing, of 
upwards of fifty years of age, while the friendless object of his choice 
was only fifteen. The diet of these poor unfortunates, considering their 
sex, was of a character with the rest of their treatment, consisting only 
of a loaf of bread and a small piece of cheese twice a day ; and although 
we were buying oranges at only two paras (a halfpenny) each, we never 
saw one amongst them all. Whenever the owners went abroad, they 
locked their charge up in the cells, and carried away the key. Being 
returned from one of their tours through the town, we heard some bitter 
lamenting in the cell next to ours, and found that it proceeded from one 
of the young girls being about to be sold, and consequently separated 
from her sister and companions. The mode of conducting thdse girls 
from town to town is on horseback ; in this manner they had been 
brought from Georgia, being exposed for sale at all the principal towns 
as they came along. They were now destined for Damascus, where it 
was thought a good mart would be found for them ; they set out on their 
melancholy journey two days before we dtdv" 

m 



98 



view, that they are " Slaves to the peasants" of 
India, would convince any person but the most 
obstinately prejudiced, that their condition must 
be very different, and very wretched indeed. In 
order to ascertain this more distinctly and cor- 
rectly it may be proper to consider, particularly, 
the situation of the superior part of the agricul- 
tural population of India. A reference to Dow's 
history of Hindostan, will enable us to ascertain 
that correctly, and prepare the way for esti- 
mating more justly, the happy state of the Slave 
population of India. The annexed extract from 
the work mentioned, will explain the former, and 
after perusing the same, it is not possible that 
the most inveterate foe of the West India Co- 
lonies, can longer refrain from acknowledging, 
that the condition of the Slaves in our West 
India Colonies is not only much superior to the 
condition of the Slaves in Hindostan, but even 
to the highest class of farmers in it. But it may 
be said, that matters are greatly improved in India 
since the period to which Dow alludes. It is pro- 
bable in several points that they are so, but the 
writers of subsequent periods, and the report 
already referred to, shew us that the improvement 
is little indeed, and that poverty, ignorance, and 
wretchedness, still overspread India, nor can 
it be otherwise, in a country where the free la- 



99 



bower earns, and can obtain, only 2d. per day 
for his labour*. In Ireland, the Parliamentary 
Report of last Session tells us, that the wages to 
the labourers in several districts, were only 4t/. 
per day, and that pittance not always to be 
obtained. The misery and distress amongst a 
numerous population, were in consequence 
alarmingly great. What then must the distress 
be in India, where the hire of the labourer is only 
one half- — two pence per day ? 

" The Nabobs of Bengal began the ruinous policy of farming out the 
lands annually, leaving the wretched tenants to the oppression and ty- 
ranny of temporary Zemindars. At the commencement of every year, 
there is a general Congress of all the great farmers, at the capital of 
Bengal; which meeting, in the language of the country, is called Punea. 
The object of the Congress is to settle the accounts of the former year, 
and to give the lands for another year to the highest bidder. 

"Pretences were never wanting to intimidate them on account of their 
past conduct ; and where no competitors offer themselves, some are created 
by the minister, to raise anxiety and terror. Presents are an infallible 
remedy, to quash all inquiries into former oppressions, and a bribe secures 
to them the power of exercising, for another year, their tyrannies over 
their unhappy tenants. 

" When they seem rich, the impost is raised; and the bribe must in 
proportion be greater. The love of money is often more powerful, than 
the fear of bodily pain. When they have long groaned under the 
i.ash, some banker, or money-broker appears, who, for the exorbitant 
interest of 10 per cent., per month, discharges the debt. The farmer by 
such means as these, often deceives the minister and the resident, and 
obtains his lands for another year, because no one else will offer a sum, 
which the possessor finds so much difficulty to pay. A friend in the 
secret, gives security for the rents ; and a present thrown into the hands 
of the minister suspends, for a time, the discipline of the whip. 

* Official Report, 1st. Appendix, p. 80, in 

H 2 



100 



M In the yea? 1767, the author of the inquiry, who resided at that time 
in Bengal, had the curiosity to calculate the expense of the Bunderbust, 
or yearly settlement. He formed his estimate from the accounts 
of various Zemindars; and he avers, without exaggeration, that the 
expense amounted to 27| per cent, of the rents of their lands ; which 
may amount to a million sterling. These trivial perquisites were shared 
between MahommedRisa, his friends, and the bankers of Moorshedabad, 
The place of the Company's resident at the Dzerbar, or the court of the Na- 
bob,, was honestly worth one .hundred and fifty thousand pounds a year, 

" When the sources of government are corrupted, they poison the whole 
stream. Every petty officer in the state, every cierk of the revenues as- 
sumed the tyrant in his own department. Justice was totally suspended ; 
and the fear of being plundered by a superior, was the only check that 
remained against the commission of the most atrocious crimes. Every 
instance of abstaining from the most cruel oppressions, proceeded from 
indolence,^-every act of tyranny from the love of money. The distemper 
of avarice, in the extreme, seemed to infect all,' whom the wrath of God 
against a devoted people, had placed in power. 

" The consequences of this mode of letting the lands in Bengal r was 
such as with little foresight, might have been expected. Nothing in the 
conquered provinces was premeditated but rapine. Every thing but plun- 
der was left to chance and necessity, which imposed their own laws. The 
farmers, having no certainty of holding their lands beyond the year, made 
no improvements. Impressed with the uncertainty of their situation, they 
Taised their rents to the last farthing upon the wretched tenants, who, un- 
willing to forsake their ancient habitations and household gods, sub- 
mitted to impositions which they could not pay. They looked up to 
heaven in their distress j but no redress remained for the wretched. 

" Year after year brought new tyrants, or confirmed the old, in the 
practice of their former oppressions. The tenants, being at length ruined, 
the farmers were unable to make their contracts with government. Their 
cruelty to their inferiors recoiled at length upon themselves. Many of 
them were bound to stakes and whipped ; but their poverty ceased to be 
feigned. Their complaints were heard in every square in Moorshedabad ; 
and not a few of them expired under the lash. Many of the infe- 
rior tenants, reduced to despair, fled the country, hoping to derive from 
other despotisms, that lenity, which our indolence, to speak the best of 
ourselves, denied. 

u In proportion as an unfortunate people became less able to bear the 



101 



established taxation, the mode of Collecting it, became more oppressive 
Seven entire battalions were added to our military establishments, to en- 
force the collections. They carried terror and ruin through the country ; 
but poverty was more prevalent than obstinacy every where. 

" The Zemindars, or principal farmers, copy the officers of govern- 
ment in tyranny. The Rybis, or wretched tenants, are forced to give their 
labour gratuitously to this transitory lord of a year, whenever he chooses 
to employ their toil in his fields, when their own farms lie waste for want 
of cultivation. There is not an article of consumption with which the 
poor tenants are not obliged to supply the general farmer. The quantity 
brought is frequently more than his consumption demands ; and in these 
cases, they are forced, under the inspection of his servants, to carry 
their own provisions to market, and to dispose of these for the use of 
their lord ! They even frequently raise or fall the exchange upon the 
Rupees , against the wretched husbandman ; and without even the strength 
of custom, they exact from the lower sort fees upon births, marriages, 
and contracts. There is scarce an occurrence upon which they have not 
invented arbitrary imposts. 

" Some of the lands in Bengal go under the designation of Com ad, having 
no native tenants ; being cultivated by vagrant husbandmen, who wander 
from place to place in quest of labour. A farmer takes frequently large 
tracts of these lands upon contract. He obliges himself to be answerable 
to government for the produce ; but he keeps the accounts himself. The 
vagrant husbandmen whom he employs having neither employment in 
agriculture nor stock, are, from time to time, supplied with small sums 
by the farmer, and when the harvest is gathered in, he appropriates to 
himself two-thirds of the crop; after paying himself from the remainder 
for the interest of the sums advanced to the vagrants. The accounts de- 
livered in to government contain every thing but the truth; and this 
mode, from our indolence, becoming most profitable to the Zemindar, 
he wishes to depopulate the country, in some measure, for his own gain. 

" Men of speculation may suppose, that the security of property to the 
natives might infuse a spirit of freedom, dangerous to our power, in our 
Indian subjects. Nature herself seems to have denied liberty to the in- 
habitants of the torrid zone, To make the natives of the fertile soil of 
Bengal free, is beyond the power Of political arrangement. The indo- 
lence which attends the climate, prevents men from the constant activity 
and exertion, which is necessary to keep the nice balance of freedom. 
Their religion, their institutions, their manners, the very dispositions of 



102 



their minds, form them for passive obedience. To give them property 
would only bind them with stronger ties to our interest ; and make them 
more our subjects; or, if the British nation prefers the name — more our 
slaves . 

" The unlimited power which Mahommedanism gives to every man 
in his own family, habituates mankind to Slavery. Every child is taught, 
from his infancy, to look upon his father, as the absolute disposer of life 
and death. The number of wives and concubines which the more wealthy 
and powerful entertain, is a cause of animosity and quarrel, which nothing 
but a severe and unaccountable power in the master of a family can re- 
press. This private species of despotism is in miniature ; the counterpart 
of what prevails in the state ; and it has the same effect in reducing all 
the passions under the dominion of fear. Jealousy itself, that most violent 
feeling of the soul, is curbed within the walls of the Harem. The women 
may pine in secret, but they must clothe their features with cheerfulness 
when their lord appears. Contumacy is productive of immediate punish- 
ment. They are degraded, divorced, chastised, and even some- 
times put to death, according to the degree of their crime or obstinacy, 
or wrath of the offended husband. No inquiry is made concerning their 
fate. Their friends may murmur, but the laws provide no redress, for 
no appeal to ptiblic justice issues forth from the Harem." (Dow, Vol. 
iii. p. 92, Sec.) 

Surrounded with misery and poverty them- 
selves, it is impossible that the masters, were 
they even inclined, can administer to the com- 
fort of their Slaves. Accordingly, direct official 
and unimpeachable testimony assures us, that 
their condition in India is the most miserable 
and wretched that can possibly be conceived. 

We have it wrung from an East India pro- 
prietor himself, (Mr. Trant,) that in India, 
"girls are sold for the purpose of prostitu- 
tion *." This worst species of Slavery is very 

* Trant's Speech, India House, July 25th, 1822. 



103 



common in many countries in the East. In 
Mingrelia so debased and degraded are its in- 
habitants, that the parents sell their daughters 
to be scattered over the East for that purpose , 
and account a large family of daughters the 
greatest gain they can possess. Will the ene- 
mies of the Colonies tell us there is any Slavery, or 
a Slave trade in the West Indies equal to this ? 
Not only are Slave labourers very numerous in 
India, but their treatment is harsh in the ex- 
treme # . They are banished from the abodes of 

* In order to give the reader a correct view of the state of Slavery in 
India, I shall condense, into as short a compass as possible, the particulars 
regarding it from various authors, amongst whom Dr. Buchanan's autho- 
rity is the most valuable, as he was officially employed by the Marquis 
Wellesley to inquire - into the state of the different Provinces of Hindostan. 

Existence of Slavery in India. 
" Their farms are chiefly cultivated in the Lower Carnatic, by 
Slaves of the inferior castes, called Sudra andPanchum Bundum. (Buch. 
vol. 1, p. 19.) In districts of Malabar, " By far the greater part of the 
labour in the field is performed by Slaves, or charmur. These are the 
absolute property of their devartis or Lords, and may be employed in any 
work that their masters please. They are not attached to the soil, but 
transferred in any manner their masters think fit ; only a husband and 
wife cannot be sold separately, but children may be separated from th»ir 
parents, and brothers from their sisters. These two tenures are utterly 
abominable ; for the person who exacts the labour and furnishes the sub- 
sistence of the Slaves, is directly interested to increase the former and 
diminish the latter, as much as possible. In fact, the Slaves are very 
severely treated; and their diminutive stature and squalid appearance 
show evidently a want of adequate nourishment. There can be no com- 
parison between their condition, and that of the Slaves in the West In- 
dia Colonies ; except that in Malabar there are a sufficient number of 
females, who are allowed to marry any person of the same caste with 



104 



their masters— 6 kept with the labouring cattle, 
in a house built at some distance from the abode 
of freemen/ — they are not allowed to enter the 

themselves, and whose labour is alway exacted by their husband's master j 
the master of the girl having no authority over her, so long as she lives 
with another man's Slave." Buchanan, Vol. ii. p. 370 — 372. " In Co- 
rumbara Nada, almost all the farmers (cudians) have Slaves ; there are 
a very few only that are reduced to the necessity of labouring with their 
own hands. In Tulava, the cultivation is chiefly carried on by culiaber, 
or hired servants; but there are also some maladalu, bought men or Slaves. 
Having assembled some of the corar or coriavar, who, under their chief 
Hubasheea, are said to have once been masters of Tulava, I found that 
they are now all Slaves, and have lost every tradition of their former 
power. In the Northern parts of Tulava, are two castes, called Boca- 
daruand Baladaru, both of whom are Slaves. When their master has no 
occasion for their work, they get no wages. The master is bound, how- 
ever, to prevent the aged or infirm from perishing of want. In Haiga 
in the farms of the Brahmins, most of the labour is performed by Slaves. 
In Soonda, farmers, who are not Brahmins, unless their farms be large, 
work the whole with their own families ; but such men must hire servants 
or keep Slaves. Men Slaves receive yearly, an allowance of rice, clothes, 
and money, equal to £2. .8. .7£., women, 8$. Id. In Bidderavu, there 
are very few hired servants but a good many Slaves, by whom, On the 
farms of the Brahmins, all the ploughing is performed." (Buchanan, 
vol. ii. p. 495 ; vol. in. p. 35, 100, 106, 148, 243, & 280.) Abbe du 
Bois States t( in truth the Pariahs of India are not to be considered in 
any other light than as the Born Slaves of the other tribes." 

Numbers. 

Abbe du Bois says " that the Pariahs compose one-fifth of the po- 
pulation, from 20 to 22 millions. In one district of Malabar, out of a 
population of 95,499, there are 16,574 Slaves. In Kherakum-Buram 
Khadakum-Buram, and Poraway there are 4,765. In Canamore and 
Cherical there are 4600 slaves." (Buchanan, vol. ii. p. 3, 485, 56.) 

Price and Treatment. 
At Manupurum, a Slave when thirty years old costs above 100 fanams, 
pj 1 2 .. 14 .. 7 , with a wife he costs double ; children sell at, from 1 5 to 40 fa- 



105 



street where the Brahmins live — it would be 



nams, or from 8s. 2\d. to 21*. lOd. In Cubumbara Nada, male Slave3 sell 



women sell at only one half of this low price. A male Slave lets at four 
fanams a year, and a woman at half as much ; the persons who have them, 
providing for their maintenance." (Buchanan, vol. ii. p. 4G6, 407, 495.) 

A working Slave, gets daily three tenths of a poray of rough rice, or 
about 36s bushels a year. He also gets annually one fanamfor oil, and \\ 
fanam for cloth, which is just sufficient to wrap round his waist. If he be 
active he gets cloth worth two fanams; and at harvest time from five to six 
forays of rough rice. Old people and children get from one to two-thirds 
of the above allowance, according to the work they can perform. In 
North Malabar, the yearly allowance fixed for a Slave is, of rough rice, 
to able-bodied men, 148£ cubical inches ; to able bodied women 103$ ; to old 
persons and children 74|. The average will be 18 4-10ths, bushels of 
which one half is husks. In Soonda, men Slaves receive yearly, an al- 
lowance of rice, clothes, and money, equal to £ 2 ..8. .7£, the women, 
8*. Id. (Buchanan, vol. ii. p. 406, 407, 491, & 243.) The subsistence of 
the free labourers is even more scanty and miserable. " Attracted by 
the stench of a rotten carcase," says the Abbe du Bois, " they fly 
in crowds to dispute the infectious carrion with the dogs, the ravens, 
and other beasts of prey. They share the mass of corruption and 
retire to their dens to devour it, without rice, seasoning, or any 
other accompaniment. Little do they care of what the animal may have 
died, for they make no scruple to poison secretly their neighbour's oxen 
and cows, to provide a savage repast for their ravenous appetites. To this 
horrible food may be attributed many of the contagious diseases which 
prevail constantly in their habitations." 

We have noticed the food and labour of Indian Slaves. Let us for 
a moment consider the manner in which their masters, — " the peasants 
of Bengal," treat them, and the light in which they view them. " When 
a man's stock of cows is large," says Buchanan, " they are kept with the 
labouring cattle, ir house built at some distance from the abode of 
freemen, in a place where the Slaves are permitted to dwell, when the 
crop is not on the ground; for these poor creatures are considered as 




at from twenty to sixty old vir-saya fanams, or from 9*. 6%d. to 28s. 8rf. ; 



106 



their devaru or lord., they are not attached to 
the soil, but transferred in any manner their 

too impure, to be permitted to approach the house of their Devaru, or 
lord." (Buchanan, vol. iii. p. 380.) 

Penant in his view of Hindostan, informs us that at the death of a per- 
son of rank. " If he happens to be an Upper Hill person of common 
rank, the head of one of his Slaves is cut off and burnt with him. If the 
Upper Hill person is of high rank, a large body of his Slaves rush from 
the hills, seize a Hindoo, and cut off his head ; and burn it with their 
chieftain." (Penant, vol. ii. p. 369.) 

Mills in his History of Hindostan, tells us that " the business of the 
Sudras,is servile labour, and their degradation is inhuman. Not only is the 
most abject and grovelling submission imposed upon them as a religious 
dutv, but they are driven from their just and equal share in the social 
institution. Even their persons and labour is not free : a man of the 
servile caste, whether bought, or unbought, a Brahmin may compell to 
perform servile duty ; he may seize without hesitation, the goods of his 
Sudra Slave, for as that Slave can have no property ; his master may 
take his goods, nor let him give spiritual instruction to such a man. 
He who instructs a servile man in the mode of expiating sin, sinks with 
that very man into the hell, named Asamvrita." (Mills's British 
India, vol. i. p. 167, 168, 169, &c.) 

" The Pariahs," says Abbe du Bois," are exceedingly addicted to in- 
temperance : the liquor which they most enjoy is the juice of the palm. 
Their intemperance not only leads to frequent quarrels among them, 
but leads to the cruel treatment of their wives. In that condition they 
often fall upon their, Slaves, even when in a state of pregnancy," and to 
this barbarous treatment, may be attributed the greater liability of the 
Pariah women to abortion, than takes place among the Castes. 

" If a Soudah read the Bedes to either of the other three Castes, or listen 
to them, heated oil, wax, and melted tin, shall be poured into his ears, 
and the orifice stopped up. If any person steal a man of inferior caste, 
he shall be fined one thousand puns of cowries (about 32s.). If a man 
in time of war, steal a horse, or an elephant, the magistrate shall deprive 
him of life. If he steal either of these animals, in time of peace, the ma- 
gistrate shall cut off from him one hand and one foot *." 

* Speech, Mr. Robertson, House of Common?, May 22, 1823. 



107 



master thinks fit. The value of a male slave is 
£2.. 14.. 7, women from 9s. 6d. to 28*., chil- 
dren from 8s. 2\d. to 21s. lOd. each. The value 
of their annual allowance of food is, to male 
Slaves, £2.. 8.. 7^— females, 8s. Id. In fact 
the Slaves are very severely treated ; and their 
diminutive stature and squalid appearance, shew 
evidently a want of nourishment There can be 
no comparison between their condition and 
that of the Slaves in the West India Colonies. 
The degradation of the Sudras or servile cast, 
is inhuman — &Sudra can have no property, and 
he who instructs a servile man in the mode of 
expiating sin, sinks with that very man into the 
hell named Asamvrita. " The hired labourers 
are scarcely in a better state, and are subjected 
to the lash at the pleasure of the master, while 
they labour almost night and day for 2d. for the 
twenty-four hours." In Canamore and Cejeri- 
cal, the Panicars (or hired men) are frequently 
flogged ; and as their masters are not bound to 
provide for them in old age, or during famine, 
they seem to be in a worse condition than the 
Slaves. They work from . morning till noon, 
when they are allowed an hour for breakfast ; 
then they work until evening, and all night they 
watch the crop." There is nothing in the West 
Indies to be compared to this ; and after a per- 



m 

usal of these undeniable facts, where it is ask- 
ed is the foundation for that daring assertion 
made by Mr. Cropper and others* u that the 
opening of the East India trade, (that is equa* 
lizing the duties on Sugar,) is the trial of a great 
experiment, that of a free competition of the 
products of the East by free men, and those of 
the W est by Slaves '? or where the room for 
that calumnious fabrication and criminal charge 
made by Mr. Clarkson in these words ; " The 
East Indian market is open to us, and we pre- 
fer Sugar that is not stained with blood and 
where it is asked is the room for that presump- 
tuous and false statement put forward, that 
there are no Slaves in India — when it is notori- 
ous to the world, as Mr. Mills justly observes, 
that * the lower classes in India are slaves to 
slaves !" The bare ipsi dixit of Mr. Clark- 
son and his coadjutors, the wanton murderers 
of truth, cannot invalidate notorious facts, nor 
blot out from the pages of history, the records 
of ages. The history of India, and the state of 
the population of India for the last two centu- 
ries at least, can be read and can be known with- 
out having recourse to fable and misrepresenta- 
tion ; and if the system by which Great Britain 
has so long been, and yet is, supplied with Su= 

* Clarkson's " Thong-Ms" page 58. 



109 



gar * stains it with blood/ then it is evident that 
for every such spot or stain that is fixed on West 
India Sugar, there must bb ten, and these tea- 
fold deeper stains on the Sugar, Rice, and Indigo, 
produced in the East Indies, whether produced 
by the labour of freemen or Slaves. Such ap- 
peals to passion, shew a complete want of argu- 
ment, and recoil upon the heads of those who 
make them. To the reflecting mind they are 
empty sounds which convey no more truth or 
meaning than the ridiculous threat held out by 
Mr. Clarkson in the name of the people of Great 
Britain, against the West India Colonies, that 
if they refuse to do what Mr. Clarkson requires, 
the people of Great Britain and himself—-" we 
will not buy sugar at all * " Of this there is 
no danger. Only let Mr. Cropper or Mr. W. 
Smith import it, and it will be generally re- 
commended, readily bought, and eagerly swal- 
lowed without much inquiry or compunction, 
where or how produced— ff we" " asking no 
questions for conscience sake." 

It is considered unnecessary to adduce fur- 
ther authorities upon these heads. It has I con- 
ceive been satisfactorily shewn, that there are 
Slaves in India; that the system of Slavery 
there established is the most grovelling that can 

* Clarkspn's " fhwtghts" page 56. 



110 

possibly be, and such as is directly contrary to 
laws enacted under the immediate sanction of 
Heaven; and further it has been shewn, that the 
freemen in India are in a much more degraded, 
and helpless, and miserable condition in point 
of food, clothing, lodging, knowledge, labour, 
and religious instruction, than any Slave in the 
West India Colonies. It has also been shewn, 
that India does not produce Sugar to supply 
even the markets of the East, nay of her own, 
instead of supplying also the market of this 
country and of civilized Europe. It has been 
shewn that in price it is greatly superior, and 
in quality it is greatly inferior to the Sugar 
produced in every Foreign Colony: and the very 
fact that this is the case, is a conclusive proof 
that the population of India are greatly behind 
the population of other countries in civilization 
and knowledge ; otherwise, with the same cli- 
mate, and, as they say, the better soil and ex- 
ceeding cheap labour, which they possess, they 
would as easily beat other countries (in point 
of quality and price,) as the manufacturers of 
Great Britain by their superior knowledge and 
intelligence, surpass all the manufacturers of the 
world in their own markets, with manufactures 
produced from their own raw materials, manu- 
factured by British capital and ingenuity, and 



Ill 



exported by British enterprise and persever- 
ance* 

•So strong is the current of the free trade and 
free labour mania, that it threatens to sweep 
every thing before it, disregarding facts, and 
reckless of the results. Mr. Clarksori goes so 
far as to say that the mere equalizing of the 
duty on East India Sugar produced by freemen, 
u would, without striking any further blow, oc- 
casion death to the execrable Slave trade in every 
part of the world ; because these foreigners, who 
should continue Slavery, no longer able to -com- 
pete in the markets with those who should em- 
ploy freemen, must abandon the Slave trade 
altogether Why, what frothy foolery and 
declamation is this? Yet it is echoed by a 
hundred pens and ten thousand tongues, in the 
face of the evidence of their own senses, and of 
every letter, invoice, and importation, which they 
receive from every corner of the earth. 

Let it be allowed for the sake of argument, 
that East India Sugar is produced by freemen 
What then ? Is it not a fact notorious to every 
one, but the most prejudiced or the most ig- 
norant, that the access to the markets of the 
whole world, either direct, or through Great 
Britain, is open to the produce of India, and of 

* Clarkson's " Thoughts," page 56. 



112 



every country in the East, where it is raised by 
the labour of freemen, and this not only for the 
article of Sugar^ but also for Cotton, Indigo, 
Coffee, &c, &c., and yet the importers of these 
articles are beat out of every market of Asia, 
Europe, Africa, and America, by all these arti- 
cles of a superior quality, raised in European 
Colonies, and the American States, wholly and 
entirely by the labour of Slaves. The subjects of 
these States meet the British merchant in every 
quarter, and paralyse and destroy all his opera- 
tions ; nor could any equalization of duty on our 
part, or any measure which we can take, prevent 
it. Mr. Clarkson may chuse to shut his eyes to 
those glaring facts, but he cannot force other 
people to do so, and woe to this country if ever 
her statesmen should shut their eyes to facts 
which he who runs may read, and the clerk who 
was but yesterday put to a mercantile writing 
desk, may see and understand in a moment 
Surely Mr. Cropper must know that the Sugar, 
Coffee, and Indigo of Brazils, Cuba, and South 
America, and the Cotton of the United States, 
overpower the productions of his free Indian 
labourers, not only in the market of Great Bri- 
tain, but in every other. Mr. Clarkson, Mr. 
Cropper, and the Reviewer, must admit that all 
these productions are raised by the labour of 
Slaves, 



113 



There is no axiom more obvious and self evi- 
dent than, this, namely, that in proportion as we 
oppress and distress our West India Colonies, 
we raise in importance, value and resources, the 
Colonies of other maritime and rival powers. 
The experience of many years has made this fact 
very obvious, and the now sought equalization 
of duty on India Sugar, or in other words, the 
abrogation of the principle of protection to 
our own capital and agriculture, (for that is 
the ultimate, the real aim in view) over the 
capital and agriculture of Foreign powers, will 
only tend to perpetuate and spread, as it has 
already tended to perpetuate and spread Sla- 
very and the Slave trade in various countries 
on earth ; and more especially in India, where 
these abundant and deep rooted plants only 
want impulse and prospect of gain, to cover 
all the land with misery more deep, hardships 
more severe, and 66 degradation " more u inhu- 
man than what at present every where pre- 
vails." 

Truth is become a rare commodity in the la- 
bours of speculative writers. Every thing must 
be done for stage effect and show ; — every thing 
must be done to 66 bite, strike, and cut" — to 
"make the impression strong ," as an Edinburgh 
periodical critic would pronounce it; no matter 

i 



114 



how great the falsehood and darings the lie, 
sr They, the East India Company/' says Mr. 
Clarkson, " have been a blessing to the natives 
with whom they have been concerned. They 
dispel the clouds of ignorance, superstition, and 
idolatry, and carry with them civilization and 
liberty wherever they go The climax of hu- 
man impudence cannot exceed this; and Mr. 
Clarkson must consider all the population of 
Britain to be as besotted and enslaved as an In- 
dian Pariah, before he can imagine that any one 
would give credit, evea for a moment, to what 
he here states. What, let me ask Mr. Clarkson, 
are u ignorance, idolatry, and superstition" if 
these do not prevail in India ; and what are " ci- 
vilization and liberty" if these prevail and are 
taught there. India is governed by commercial 
interests, to which all political power and rights 
are subservient, vested in a body of men 20,000 
miles distant from her, whose mandates in India 
none dare question, none dare dispute ; and who 
govern, and must govern, with an arm as firm, 
and a sceptre as despotic, as was exercised or 
wielded by Napoleon in the arrogance and the 
plenitude of his power. In addition to all their 
other known despotic laws, it was only the other 
day that a regulation and order was issued, for 
bidding, under the penalty of banishment from 

* Clarkson's " Thoughts" page 57. 



115 



Hindostan, every person who might publicly at- 
tempt to examine or blame the conduct or pro- 
ceedings of the Company's Government in any 
manner whatever # . And will Mr. Clarkson tell 
us this is liberty, or that liberty dwells, or can 
dwell, under such despotic dominion. 

With regard to the knowledge which prevails 
in India, where, it is asked of Mr. Clarkson, on 
the face of the earth amongst any portion of the 
human race shall we find u idolatry, ignorance and 
superstition" darker, stronger, and more op- 
posed to the revealed will of Heaven than theirs ? 
How many stocks and stones under the deno- 
mination of Deities with hundreds of arms and 
heads each, do they worship ? — They adore the 
river and the brute — the Ganges and the cow — - 
at their shrines they offer worship and u the glory 
and the praise " that is due only to Jehovah, they 

* By a positive law dated and published at Calcutta, April 5th, 1823, 
there were prohibited publication of " Observations or statements touch- 
ing the character, constitution, measures or orders of the Directors, &c 
connected with the Government of India, or the character, constitution, 
measures or orders of the Indian Governments — to excite resistance to 
their orders, or to weaken their authority. Discussions having a 

TENDENCY TO CREATE ALARM OR SUSPICION AMONG THE NATIVE POPULA- 
TION, or of any intended official interference with their religious opinions 
—insulting remarks on their peculiar usages and modes of thinking on 
religious subjects — publications tending to disturb the peace, harmony, 
and good order of society, &c. &c." — And on 30th March, Sir F. Mac- 
naughton in the supreme court declared " The Government and a fre« 
press are incompatible, and cannot stand together. The introduction of 
liberty into India would be worse than the most odious tyrannv." 

i2 



116 



give 8 to graven images." They make Slaved 
of each other — the parent of the child* — brother 
of brother, the sister is sold for the purpose of 
prostitution, they expose their infants and their 
aged to die by the savage beasts of the jungle and 
the waters of the Ganges — they burn their widows 
by express laws, and by permission of British 
magistrates, upon the funeral piles of their 
husbands; and below the bloody wheels of their 
god Juggernaut, they crush to death and wade 
through the blood of the victims — -to crimes, 
Mr. Clarkson must know, or he knows little that 
lie should know, that this is " idolatry, ignorance 
and superstition," against which the severest ven- 
geance was denounced and inflicted by the arm 
of Omnipotence upon his chosen people. It is be- 
sides perfectly notorious that at this moment the 
most express laws are in operation over all India 
enacted by the East India Company, protecting, 
and commanding all their officers to protect the 
natives in the free exercise of these their cus- 
toms and religion, and even prohibiting Euro- 
peans from interfering or meddling with them to 
point out their error. 

I am not canvassing the" conduct of the East 

* The author of a work entitled Fifteen Years residence in India, 
states the class called Paliars to be slaves, and informs ns that a man of- 
fered to sell his own son as a slave, which was according to the law AND 

CUSTOM OF THE COUNTRY. (P. 183.) 



117 



fodia Company, or saying that in what they do 
they do wrong. I am perfectly aware that India 
if to be governed by Europeans, can only be go- 
verned by the firm arm of oriental despotism, and 
•also that whenever the population of India shall 
shake off the fetters of that " ignorance, supersti- 
tion and idolatry," which has ground them to the 
dust through a long lapse of ages, and rendered 
them the easy prey of every invader^ from that 
moment they will shake off European chains, and, 
above all, the fetters imposed upon them by the 
East India Company. In what I have brought 
forward, my object is merely to state facts, and 
with them to meet the daring, but rash and injudi- 
cious comparisons, which ignorance, presump- 
tion and prejudice, attempt to draw against our 
West India Colonies ; and when Mr. Clarkson 
or the Critic can shew me either political tyranny, 
■ c ignorance, idolatry and superstition" in the 
West Indies worse than — I will even say equal 
to, or in any degree resembling the system which 
in all these things is established, rooted and sup- 
ported in the East Indies, 1 may then be induced 
to notice, or dwell longer upon this part of the 
.subject. 

Equally remarkable, and of a piece with the 
preceding, but taking a more daring flight, is 
the continued cry, that by tolerating Slavery the 
nation has committed,, is committing, a great 



118 



moral crime in the eyes* of heaven, and that all 
our misfortunes arise and proceed from that 
cause. Is not this the doctrine of Mr, Clarkson, 
u Take away/' says he, " from the planters the 
use and practice of Slavery, and the hour of 
their prosperity would be begun. Can we doubt 
that Providence would then bless their endea- 
vours, and that deliverance from their difficulties 
would be their portion in the end ! 9 At leisure, 
friend Clarkson. If the planters are guilty, this 
country which supported and encouraged them 
in their present pursuits is not innocent. If they 
commit a moral crime by holding Slaves, the 
power which made it legal in them to do so has 
committed one far greater. Above one hun- 
dred and fifty years have passed away since Great 
Britain established her present colonial system. 
Does Mr. Clarkson mean to say that all our na- 
tional reverses within that period have proceeded 
from the commission of the crime of buying and 
holding Slaves ? If so, what will he say to that 
national presumption, which during all that pe- 
riod has so often and so justly offered up to the 
Most High the national gratitude, and thanks, 
and praise, for the great national benefits and 
blessings she had received and enjoyed ; when, 
if we are to believe Mr. Clarkson' s authority, the 
nation was systematically opposing his word 
and violating his law? 



CHAPTER V. 



Pamphlet of Mr. ClarJcson. — Unfounded and grievous 
Calumnies. — Their Falsehood exposed. — Statement 
of Clarkson and others, that to hold or to own 
Slaves constitutes a Crime in the Eyes of Heaven. 
— Examined and refuted from both the Old and New 
Testament. — Slaves in our Colonies asserted to have 
been obtained by Violence, " stolen," and consequent- 
ly Title to them illegal. — The Trade in which they 
were obtained shewn to have been formerly legal, 
both by the Laws of this Country and of Africa. 
— Origin of Slavery. — Laws and Practice of the 
Jews concerning it. — Prisoners of War sold as 
Slaves. — Great Extent and long Standing of the 
trade in Africa. — Europeans found the Trade — did 
not create it. — Proofs from Report Committee of 
Privy Council, 1789, and from various Authorities, 
to shew the Legality of the Trade. — Its Prevalence 
in Africa. — Who are made Slaves there. — Criminals, 
Debtors, and Prisoners of War. — Cruelty of the 
African Princes. — Kill or sacrifice the Prisoners 
they cannot sell. — Mr. Clarkson's false Statements 
on these Points refuted, fyc. fyc. 

In No. 77, the Heviewer returns to his sub- 
ject of attacking the West India Colonies, and 



120 

for this purpose lie confines himself almost en- 
tirely to extracts fromMr.Clarkson's "Thoughts * 
a publication among the best which the Critic 
seems to have met with, as exceeding in direct 
malevolence and reckless declamation, any 
thing that the Reviewer could of himself pro- 
duce. On this account I shall, in noticing this 
publication, and others of a similar nature, pass 
from the Review, and stick to the originals, par- 
ticularly as there are some passages in them 
which are evidently too strong for the Review- 
er's nerves, and too bold and daring for even 
his inventive powers to dwell on. 

Of this publication of Mr. Clarkson it may be 
said, that never before were so many misrepre- 
sentations and deviations from truth collected 
into the bounds of fifty-seven octavo pages. 
These are harsh words, but they are true, as 
the extracts my time and limits permit me to 
notice, will abundantly prove. 

Mr. Clarkson cannot expect that his simple 
affirmation is to supersede all inquiry and all 
authority, and turn the course of events into 
such channels as he may chuse. A short example 
of our author's manner, and our author's con- 
sistency and veracity, may at the outset and a,t 
once, gave the reader a correct idea of the spi- 



121 



fit and the object of the work. In page 48, he says* 
ff a Negro, if he worked for himself could do 
double work. It is surprising to find how little 
a West Indian Slave really does, when he 
works for his master. He appears to work, 
ivithout actually working ; he (page 49) does 
for himself in one day more than a third of what 
lie does for his master in six — he works more 
than three times harder when he works for him- 
self, than when he works for his master." Yet 
with these facts acknowledged, the burden of 
his work is to shew the cruelty and severity with 
which they are worked and treated, which in page 
53 he sums up thus: — <e Slavery indeed has no 
compassion, and it is one of its characteristics 
never to think of sparing the sinews of the 
wretched creature called a Slave." Surely Mr. 
Clarkson did not write his book for those who 
think, or who compare one page with another, or 
he would never have penned the preceding sen- 
tences, and still less the following audacious false- 
hood, more bitter and aggravated than any thing 
that ever disgraced the British press, amongst 
the numerous glaring abominations that tarnish 
and degrade its character : — u Slaves must do, 
and that instantaneously, whatever their master 
prders them to do whether it be right or wrong. 



122 



His will, and his will alone, is their law. If the 
wife of a Slave were ordered by her master to 
submit herself to his lusts, or her husband were 
ordered to steal for him, neither the one nor the 
other would dare to disobey his commands. 
The whip, the shackles, the dungeon/ says 
Mr. Steel, " are at all times in his power, 
whether to gratify his lust, or display his 
authority # . w This may be the condition of 
Mr. Clarkson's and Mr. Cropper's Bondmen, 
(there are Slaves who are not known by the 
name,) but that it is, ever was, or e\>er can be 
the state of the British West India Slaves, is 
false — it is false, I repeat it, and that it is so 
Mr. Clarkson does, or might know. 

After this specimen of Mr. Clarkson's hardi- 
hood, and of Mr. Clarkson as an authority, the 
reader will scarcely feel surprise at any thing he 
may assert, nor pay respect, or give credit to 
what he may advance on this subject. 

There is an assurance and confidence about 
Mr. Clarkson which astonishes but cannot con- 
vince. " There is not," says he, " one English 
law, which gives a man a right to deprive of 
liberty any of his fellow creatures f " The 

* Clarkson's " Thoughts /'page 9, 
f Ibid, page 12, 



123 



West India Colonists/' says he, a have no title 
to their Slaves on the ground of original grants 
or permissions of Governments, or of Acts of 
Parliament, or of Charters, or of English law. 
There is not an individual who holds any of the 
Slaves by a legal title # ." It would be a waste 
of time and words to argue against such delir- 
ious averments as these. The records and daily 
practice of our courts of justice, from the high- 
est to the lowest of them, which act on British 
law and should know it, establish the reverse ; 
and really it exceeds any thing ever before ven- 
tured upon by any man professing to be a 
British subject, to tell the British nation that for 
two hundred years her courts of justice have been 
acting in direct violation of the laws of the land f. 

" I contend," says Mr. Clarkson, " that there 
can be, according to the Gospel dispensation, 
no such state as West India Slavery %? Why 
West India Slavery more than East India Sla- 
very, or any other Slavery? Is the Slave, if a 
worshipper of Juggernaut, more legally held 
than those under Christian masters ? But this 
miserable quibble and subterfuge does not avail 

* Clarkson's " Thoughts" pages 10 & 11. 
f This point will be more fully considered in the sequel, when it wil 
be shewn how the laws of England stand as to this point. 

I Clarkson's " Thoughts" pages 9 & 10. 



124 



Mr. Clarkson in this instance. He has not.and 
cannot shew that West India Slavery is worse, or 
different from that maintained under the Gospel 
dispensation. In page 8, he informs us that it is 
by Roman, not English law, that we hold Slaves. 
There are many of our laws derived from and 
founded upon the Roman law ; and it would not 
be difficult to shew Mr. Clarkson that those Ro- 
man laws, constituting Slaves legal property, 
formed the guides of courts of justice for genera- 
tions under the Gospel dispensation. 

But as this is an important point, and as if it 
can be made out that the master has no legal title 
to his Slave under the Gospel dispensation, com- 
pensatio?i is not due, and ought not to be ex- 
pected, far less demanded ; (which 5 is the great 
point Mr. Clarkson and others of his coadjutors 
are driving at, though they dare not openly say 
so,) it is necessary to dwell more particularly 
upon it. This doctrine of Mr. Clarkson's struck 
even the unrighteousness of the Reviewer dumb, 
for he has not dared to notice it. As the New 
Testament and the Old are inseparably connec- 
ted, it is proper that Mr. Clarkson should consult 
both, in order to see that a master may hold 
Slaves, or be entitled to hold them, and be a 
faithful and sincere worshipper and servant of 



125 



liis God ; two points which Mr. Clarkson and 
those who think with him deny, and consider to 
be impossible.* 

If, as Mr. Clarkson says, to hold Slaves 
is contrary to the Gospel dispensation — if, in 
the words of the Scribe of the London Abo- 
lition Society, it is " inhuman, criminal, at direct 
variance with the will of the Supreme Author 
of the Universe," then, the translators of our 
Bibles must have imposed upon the world all those 
passages where it is recorded, that Abraham, 
Isaac, and Jacob, possessed and held Bond men- 
Slaves. But more especially they must have falsi- 
fied the following : — Lev. c. 25, v. 24. " Both thy 
Bond men and thy Bond maids which thou shalt 
have, shall be of the heathen round about you, 
of them shall ye buy Bond men and Bond maids." 
Verse 45. " Moreover of the Children of stran- 
gers that do sojourn among you, of them shall 

* The case of the Roman Centurion (Matthew, c. 8, v. 5 — 13,) is a 
beautiful illustration of this truth. When he solicited the Divine inter- 
ference of the Saviour of the world to cure his Servant-— his &lave ; the 
Redeemer -did not meet him by questioning his right to his " Servant" 
nor with upbraiding accusation because he was the' master of a Slave, 
On the contrary he readily performed the cure solicited of him with such 
faith, and such humility, and not only so, but, addressing the surrounding 
multitude, he added the highest and strongest testimony to the Centurion's 
character, in these words, " Verily, I say unto yon, I have not found so 
great faith, no, not in Israel" Mr. Clarkson, and others of our inve- 
terate Colonial enemies, would do well to read and to remember this pas- 
sage of the sacred writings. 



126 



ye buy, and of their families which are with you, 
which they beget in your land, and they shall be 
your possession, and ye shall take them as an 
inheritance for your children after you, to in- 
nerit them for a possession, and they shall be 

YOUR BOND MEN FOR. EVER." 

These texts require no comment, and till Mr. 
Clarkson and his presumptuous coadjutor can 
prove that such passages are not in the Bible, 
that Moses, the great Jewish law giver, did not 
act by and under the authority of the Almighty, 
and that i 6 moral" guilt is in sight of God, 
different now from what it was then, he must con- 
fess and admit, that personal Slavery is not 
" at direct variance with the will of the Supreme 
Author of the Universe;" and, consequently, 
that neither individually nor nationally, does the 
possession of Slaves, constitute in his sight, 
moral guilt. 

Nor does the case, as it might be allowed to 
do, rest here. Every one, in the slightest de- 
gree acquainted with history, knows that when 
Christianity was first introduced into the world, 
half the human race, but more especially in 
the Roman Empire, then comprehending what 
was accounted the civilized world, were Slaves, 
and in a state of bondage more severe than that 
at present existing in any British Colony. This 



127 



state of personal Slavery continued for many 
centuries amongst all the nations that embraced 
Christianity, in Asia, Africa, and Europe. It 
yet continues to exist amongst some of them, 
and was but lately, as in Poland, exercised by 
the master 6C without responsibility," the nobles 
possessing the power to put their Slaves to 
death without being called to account for it, by 
any law or power in the state, till Catherine 
the II. broke to pieces that power on the part of 
Poland, annexed to Russia ; and only since 1815, 
it has been taken away in the parts annexed to 
Austria and Prussia. Slavery at this moment 
exists to a great extent in the United States of 
America — to a great extent in our Indian Em- 
pire, is universal in Africa, and prevails in 
almost every country and corner of Asia. In 
all these countries and through every age, a 
Slave was always accounted and held as legal 
property ; and really it is something strange, if 
the myriads of mankind that have lived through 
the roll of 3,000 years, under every creed and 
under every form of Government, should have 
been continuing to hold what no law en- 
titled them to hold, till Mr. Clarkson came to 
open their eyes to truth and justice. In no part 
of the New Testament is the master's right to 
his Slave, either questioned or disputed. On 



128 



the contrary, the most solemn and reiterated 
admonitions, nay injunctions are given to obedi- 
ence and fidelity, as is particularly exemplified 
in the case of Philemon. Indeed, throughout 
all his works, the great Apostle of the Gentiles, 
presses , the point upon every Christian, and 
points out in an impressive manner the duties 
both of master and servant, or as the latter word 
used in the original Greek means, Bondman 
or Slave, In this manner all the Apostles acted 
and taught — in this manner all the early teachers 
of Christianity acted and taught, and so through 
the ages succeeding, their successors have act- 
ed and taught. They have ever looked upon 
Slavery as a civil and political question, and 
amenable to, and removable solely by laws, the 
result of circumstances, not religious, but civil. 

There is a daring temerity about men like 
Mr. Clarkson, in their appeals to the Gospel, 
which is most dangerous and reprehensible. It 
is perfectly evident that he inculcates and ad- 
vocates principles different from those taught by 
the Apostle Paul, that Apostle who of his doc- 
trine says most emphatically, tc Do I seek to 
please men, I should not be the servant of God." 
(Gals. c. i. v. 10.) The words of the latter, 
particularly in his Epistle to Timothy, are so 
strong upon this subject, that they merit our 



129 

most serious attention. Let our Colonial agita- 
tors and enemies read them, if they can, without 
trembling at their own rashness and boldness* 
and their own want of that faith and that spirit, 
the deficiency of which they so mercilessly im- 
pute as a reproach to their neighbours. 

Ephes. c. vi. v. 5, 6, 8 and 9. — " Servants be obedient to them that are 
your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling-, in single- 
ness of heart as unto Christ. Not with eye servers as men pleasers j 
but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart. 
Knowing, that whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the same shall he 
receive of the Lord, whether he be bond or free. And ye masters do the 
same things unto them, forbearing threatenings : knowing that your 
master also is in heaven ; neither is there any respect of persons with 
him." 

1st. Corin. c. vii. v. 21 , 22. — " Art thou called, being a servant ? care not 
for it ; but if thou mayest be made free use it rather. For he that is 
called in the Lord being a servant, is the Lord's free man, likewise also 
he that is called being free, is Christ's servant." 

1st. Timothy, v. 1 — 6. — " Let as many servants as are under the yoke, 
count their own masters worthy of all honour ; that the name of God 
and his doctrine be not blasphemed. And they that have believing mas- 
ters, let them not despise them, because they are brethren ; but rather 
do them service, because they are faithful and beloved, partakers of the 
benefits. Those things teach and exhort. If any man teach otherwise, 
and consent not to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus 
Christ, and to the doctrine which is according to godliness, He is 
proud, knowing nothing, but doting about questions, and trifles of words, 
whereof cometk envy, strife, railings, evil surpiisings, perverse disputings 
of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is 
godliness : from such withdraw thyself." 

Colos. c. iii. v. 22, and c. iv. v. 1. — " Servants obey in all things your 
masters according to the flesh, not with eye service, as men pleasers; 
but in singleness of heart, fearing God. — Masters give unto your servants 
that which is just and equal ; knowing that ye also have a master in 
Heaven." 

K 



130 



Titus y c. ii. v. 9, 10, and c. iii. v. 1, 2. — " Exhort servants to be obedt* 
ent unto their own masters, and to please them well in all things ; not 
answering again ; not purloining but shewing all good fidelity ; that they 
may adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things. These things 
speak and exhort and rebuke with all authority. Let no man despise 
thee. Put them in mind to be subject to principalities and powers, to 
obey magistrates, to be ready to every good work. To speak evil of no 
man, to be no brawlers, but gentle,shewing all meekness unto all men." 

With all these facts before us, the doctrine of 
Mr. Clarkson cannot be assented to ; but if he 
or his colleagues, can shew in any part of the 
writings of the Apostles, one passage that states 
Slavery, or the possession of Slaves to be u at 
direct variance with the will of the Supreme 
Author of the Universe" — the Author of Chris- 
tianity, and constituting in his sight " moral 
guilt I, for one, shall cheerfully acknowledge 
my error, and lend my aid K come what come 
may" to wipe out the stain, and that without 
a moment's delay, from every country within the 
bounds of the British Empire. No equivocation 
— no quibbles or delays, like those of Mr. W. 
Smith or Mr. Clarkson, about gradual emanci- 
pation, or the sophistry that u immediate eman- 
cipation might be an injury, and not a blessing, 
to the Slaves themselves," or that u a period of 
prepa?*ation, which unhappily included delay, 
to the Slaves themselves" was necessary — no 
quibbling of this kind, I say, about preparation 
or delay — we ought not to keep them an hour, 



131 



if doing so is u at variance with the will of the 
Supreme Author of the Universe," and u contrary 
to the Gospel dispensation" ; but then, to satisfy 
us of that being the case, we must see produced 
the word of the Author of the Universe, and the 
command of the Gospel, and not the ipse dixit 
and assertion of Mr. Smith, Mr. Buxton, or Mr. 
Clarkson, or in fact, of any other person who 
take their views of the subject. 

Oh ! but the Slaves in our West India Co- 
lonies are a different kind of Slaves, and stand 
in a different situation to any Slaves that 
ever were, or are in the world, say our Colonial 
opponents. " As to those in our Colonies, who 
are Africans," says Mr. Clarkson, u I never 
heard of any title to them but by the right of 
purchase. But it may be asked, where did the 
purchasers get them ? It will be answered, they 
got them from the sellers. And where did the 
sellers, that is, the original sellers, get them? 
They got them by fraud and violence. So says 
the evidence before the House of Commons* " 
" The Slaves in our Colonies," says the Cham- 
pion of the African Institution, " were obtained 
not by lawful means, or under any colourable 
pretext, but by the most undisguised rapine, 

* Clarkson's " Thoughts," page 8. In page 138 see that evidence. 

K 2 



and the most atrocious fraud*. 55 Mr. Buxton 
re-echoes the same cuckoo song, which is, in 
every part, contrary to truth. When Mr. 
Clarkson states, that the evidence before the 
House of Commons says, the African Slaves in 
our Colonies were obtained by open, criminal 
force and violence ; he has stated what that evi- 
dence will not bear him out in stating, and what 
every one, acquainted with African affairs,, 
knows to be contrary to the fact. 

Before, however, entering more particularly 
into this part of the subject, it is necessary 
to notice Mr. Clarkson's preparatory reasoning, 
who cannot meet any subject fairly, but en- 
deavours, by fallacious declamation, and cases 
got up for the purpose, to withdraw the judg- 
ment from the fact. 

" Suppose an English gentleman," says Mr. Clarkson, " to be seized 
by ruffians on tbe Banks of the Thames, (and why not a gentleman, when 
African Prinees have been so served ?) and hurried away to a land (and 
Algiers is such a laud for instance) where white persons are held as 
Slaves. Now, this gentleman has not been used to severe labour ; 
(neither has the African in his own country) and being, therefore, unaHe 
though iie does his best, to please his master, he is roused to further ex- 
ertion by the whip j" and a great deal more about bad and scanty food, 
ill treatment and cruelty to his wife and daughters, (though the gentle- 
man had been carried away alone) which Mr. Clarkson declares to be, as 
it is, most atrocious and unjust, aud similar to the way in which the 
Slaves are procured for the West Indies. 

Now, Mr. Clarkson must really take the in- 

* Address by Abolition Society, 



m 

tellects of mankind to be lower than those of 
Hottentots, if he cannot perceive that they will 
see the two cases to be widely and totally dif- 
ferent. The gentleman carried away from the 
Banks of the Thames to Algiers, would be car- 
ried away into a state of Slavery, contrary to the 
laws of that country from whence he was car- 
ried away. If done by the State of Algiers, or ra- 
ther by an Algerine, without a public declaration 
of war, it would become an act of piracy, for 
which we could demand satisfaction ; if done by 
the Algerines after a declaration of war, then they 
made the man a Slave in conformity to the 
laws of war, and the African laws of war, and 
the laws of war of all nations of antiquity, which 
those barbarous states yet adhere to, and either 
he or his nation must submit to pay his ransom 
or conquer and subdue the Algerines, so as to 
compel them to bring their rules of war to the 
rules adopted by christian nations. Hitherto 
the latter nations have, in general, adopted the 
previous alternative, till Lord Exmouth directed 
the British thunder to batter to pieces the bar- 
barous claim. But Mr. Clarkson must allow 
that the case would be very different, if the Al- 
gerines in conformity to their own laws, and at 
peace with this country, came to it, and on the 
banks of the Thames, purchased, under the es~ 

k 3 



134 



tablished laws of this country — under the au- 
thority of the Prince who either sacrificed his sub- 
jects by thousands to the manes of his ancestors, 
or sold them as Slaves ; the supposed gentlemen, 
or any other gentleman. This is the true bearing 
of the case as it regards Africa and the Slaves 
brought from thence to our West India Colo- 
nies. " He who stealeth a man and selleth him, 
or, if he be found in his hand, he (because I 
presume, the man was the property of another,) 
shall surely be put to death says the highest 
authority, that same authority which stated that 
the children of strangers might be bought and 
held as Slaves. Mr. Clarkson indeed endea- 
vours at other times, to shew that all our Slaves 
were brought from Africa by fraud and violence; 
and at the time of the first agitation of the abo- 
lition question in 1792, he and others, brought 
forward narratives and affidavits from revenge- 
ful seamen to establish the fact, but he cannot 
have forgotten, as the records of the Court of 
King's Bench will establish that those affidavits 
were the productions of gross and wilful perjury, 
tried, convicted, and punished as such.f 

* Exodus, c. xxi. v. 16. 

By Act, Geo. II. cap. 31, sect. 20, a penalty of £ 100 was incurred by 
any one convicted " of carrying away the natives of Africa by fraud, 
force, or indirect practices." 

f See trial and conviction of Thomas Dowling for wilful and corrupt 



135 



In looking back into the origin of personal 
Slavery among the nations of antiquity, we per 
ceive that it arose from the rights of war and 
conquest. The victor universally held it as his 
right to adopt the alternative of putting to death 
or enslaving the vanquished. This right was act- 
ed upon by the Jews, as we learn from the fate 
of Agag, hewn to pieces by command of Samuel, 
then the head of the people of Israel ; and by 
the fate of the Midianites, and also by the fate 
of the Ammonites, who were cut off by the orders 
of King David, amidst the most terrific severi- 
ties ; and we learn the exercise of the alterna- 
tive of the right, by the fate of the conquered 
Jebusites, who were reduced " to be hewers of 
wood and drawers of water," that is to a servile 
state, by Joshua and the other leaders of the Is- 
raelites.'* 

perjury, Court of King's Bench, Feb. 26th, 1793, before Lord Kenyon, in 
the case of Capt. Kimber, who was accused, tried, and acquitted, of the 
charges brought against him. 

*Thc practice and laws of the Jews on this head as these are related 
in the old Testament, are so striking and remarkable, that they deserve 
our attention ; and as we consider these we shall perceive that the rights 
of Slavery, as established in our Colonies, are, in some important points, 
similar to those which were established and recognized amongst the 
Jews. 

So severe were their war laws, (Deut. c. xx. v. 14 — c. xxi. v. 10, 11) 
that only the women and the children were saved. The rest were put to 
death ; and, in the war against the Midianites, even the male children, and 
the women who had known man, were put to death. Numb. c. xxxi.v. 14, 



136 



Amongst heathen nations, and amongst the 
more polished, such as Greece, Persia, and 
Rome, the consequences of conquest was always 

18, 35. That the Slaves taken in war were sold to the highest bidder, is 
extremely probable ; for, in the Midianitish war, the 12,000 men who 
had made the campaign received 15,968 virgins; and the rest of the 
Israelites, almost six hundred thousand, 15,680 ; Eleazar the high priest 
32 ; and the adult Levites, who amounted to more than eight thousand, 
320. To divide the spoil, therefore, there must have been an auction or 
valuation. One class of Slaves {Gen. c. xvii. v. 13) were, born in the house, 
distinguished from those " bought with silver." It appears also, that 
parents, not fathers only, but in certain cases mother's likewise, had it 
in their power to sell their children. The debtor, and not merely the 
person of the debtor, but his wife and children were subjected to be 
seized and sold as Slaves to pay the creditor. {Exod. c. xxii. v. 2. Nahum. 
c. v. v. 4, 5; 2 Kings, c. xiv. v. 1. Isaiah, c. 1. v. 1.) and sometimes the 
debtor consigned his wife and children to Slavery for his debts, that he 
himself might go free. 

Slaves were acquired by the issue of the marriage of Slaves, or rather 
of that sort of cohabitation between them which the Latins termed Con- 
tubernia ; for, in the Roman law, that, and not conjugia, was the term 
applied to the marriages of Slaves ; and amongst the Hebrews, likewise, 
we find a remarkable distinction made between their marriages and those 
of free citizens. 

If a free-born Hebrew, who sold himself for a Slave, had previously 
had a wife, this was in all respects a perfect marriage ; and, after his six 
years of servitude were expired, her freedom was restored along with her 
husband's, {Exod. c. ii, v. 3.) But if, during the continuance of his ser- 
vitude, his master gave him a female Slave as a companion, this was only a 
contubernium, and differed from a marriage in this essential circumstance, 
that she still continued in Slavery after he had recovered his freedom in the 
seventh year, and consequently after the connection had ceased. {Exod.c. 
xxi, v. 4. The children produced from such a contubernium were also 
Slaves ; and, a fortiori, it is obvious that the children of other servants 
of foreign descent were born to Slavery. Such Slaves by birth were 
said to be born in the house, {Gen. c. xiv. c. xvii. v. 23,) and termed sons 
of the house, {Gen. c. xv. V. 3 ;) or sons of the handmaid, {Exod. c. xxiii. 



137 



personal Slavery. The practices yet continued 
amongst various Eastern nations, and after the 
overthrow of the Roman empire, the nations 
which over-ran it, and from whom the nations of 

v. 12; Psalms, Ixxxvi. v. 16, and cxvi. v. 16.) Abraham had 318 of 
them, and whom he treated with such confidence as to put arms in their 
hands. 

That a man could sell himself as a Slave is evident from the passages 
just quoted ; for it is expressly stated, that if the free-born Hebrew ser- 
vant, upon the expiring of the term of his servitude should say that he 
loved his wife and wished to remain, " his master shall bring him to the 
judge," and, in his presence, to the door-post, " bore his ear through 
with an awl, and he shall serve him for ever." {Exod. c. xxi. v. 5, 6.) 

From these passages, also, it is evident that the children born by a 
female Slave, were Slaves, though the father was free. 

That the Jewish law decidedly recognised Slaves as property, is evi- 
dent from various passages. — Exod. c. xxi. v. 32. Moses fixes the value 
of a male or female Slave, who might be gored to death by an ox, and 
which the owner of the latter had to pay, at 30 shekels, about 36s. of our 
money. And, in determining .the value of the release of Slaves of the 
sanctuary, Moses values the child less than one month old at nothing — 
from a month old to the fifth year, the value of a boy was five, and of a 
girl three shekels; from the 5th to the 20th year, a boy was worth 20 
and a girl 10 shekels; from the age of 20 to 60, males were valued at 50 
and females at 30 shekels; and above 60, a male at 15 and a female at 
10 shekels. Upon consideration it will be found that these valuations 
are formed upon the nicest calculations of mortality, and in reference 
to the usefulness of a Slave at the respective periods of life. 

Slaves might also hold Slaves, as in our Colonies. In 2 Samuel, c. ix. 
v. 10. we find that Ziba, who was a Slave, had 20 Slaves. 

The Jews reduced the conquered nations whom they spared, to a state 
of Slavery. Thus the Gibeonites were made " hewers of wood and drawers 
of water" {Joshua, c. ix. v. 27) — they were termed Nelhinims (presented 
as gifts), and in (1 Kings, c. ix. v. 20,) we are told : " And all the people 
that were left of the Amonites, Hittites, Perezites, Hivites, and Jebusites, 
which were not of the children of Israel, their children that were left after 



138 



modern Europe sprang, continued the practice 
till the middle of the thirteenth century, when 
by the consent of Europe it was established as 
the law of nations, that prisoners of war should 
cease to be reduced to a state of personal Slavery. 
Other causes however, continued to produce Sla- 
very, such as various crimes, which were pu- 
nished by that degradation, which extended to 
the person and to his posterity. 

Such were the causes, and such the origin, of 
personal Slavery amongst the nations of anti- 
quity, and that similar causes yet continue to 
produce it amongst the much ruder and more 
barbarous natives of Africa; every one at all 
acquainted with iVfrica, or the authors and tra- 
vellers who have written concerning that country, 
must know to be the fact, and consequently that 
the statements put forward by Mr. Clarkson 
and others, are totally at variance with truth. 
Slavery and a Slave trade existed in Africa 
from time immemorial — for many centuries be- 
fore Europeans visited the western coasts. It is 
the general law and practice in every African 
state, north of the Hottentot country. It is car- 
ried on as a right by all the governments in it, 

them in the land, whom the children of Israel also were not able utterly 
to destroy; upon those did Solomon levy a tribute of bond service unto, 
this day." 



139 



upon precisely the same grounds as by both the 
barbarous and civilized nations of antiquity, 
namely, the right of conquest over prisoners 
taken in war, and that of inflicting punishment 
for crimes. Some partial and piratical excep- 
tions to this system are no doubt to be found, 
but these do not invalidate, the general rule ; 
and ninety-nine times out of a hundred, the 
quarrels among the African Princes and States 
originate in other causes, (as quarrels originate 
among other Princes and States,) than the mere 
desire of procuring Slaves, as is constantly as- 
serted by the abolitionists, and generally believed 
by those of the public who neither enquire nor 
think. 

1 might occupy a very large space with au- 
thorities, to prove that the Slaves in our West 
India Colonies were not procured by * fraud 
and violence " — " stolen " — that is in violation 
of our laws, and the laws of the different African 
States, but the annexed condensed summary is 
conceived sufficient for the purpose of refuting 
the daring assertions and unfounded charges of 
Mr. Clarkson and his thoughtless coadjutors*. 

* SLAVE TRADE. 

Evidence Committee Privy Council. 

Part First, evidence Mr. Peplett. — Kings, " break a village" that is 
seize the inhabitants when these are refractory and refuse to pay tribute 
and if not ransomed, sell such as they seize for Slaves, but never without 



140 



Were the assertions of these gentlemen true, 
they would load the character of their country 
with crimes so deep, and dreadful, and aggra- 

such a cause. Mr. Thomas Eldrid. — Negroes regularly tried and con- 
demned, for crimes such, as adultery, are then sold for Slaves. Rev. Air. 
Newton. — Convicts for theft, by law lose their liberty ; traded to Africa ; 
several voyages. Mr. Norris. — Gold Coast Negroes sold into Slavery, for 
crimes of witchcraft, Sec. Intercourse with Europeans rendered natives 
more civilized. Mr. Mills. — Inland from Gold Coast, inhabitants offer 
human sacrifices. Mr. Weares states same thing. Either Slaves of 
the person dying sacrificed, or some purchased for that object. Mr. 
Norris. — Dahomey ; human sacrifices very frequent ; has seen at the gates 
of the king's palace, two piles of heads like shot in an arsenal ; the pas- 
sages to it are strewed with the heads of those newly put to death ; and the 
roof of the palace decorated with a prodigious number ; number sacrificed 
exceeds 1000 annually. All children belong to the king, &c. When de- 
linquents and captives taken in war, cannot supply sacrifices, any person 
taken may be pitched upon. Captives taken in war, sold as Slaves or 
put to death in Dahomey. In kingdom of Eyeo the same. Anniversary 
funeral of the father or mother of the King of Dahomey, about 60 men 
or women sacrificed. Mr. Dalzell states the same things. Mr. Penny f 
was present at the sacrifice of a young Slave to the manes of the king in 
the Delta of Benin. 

The people practice gross idolatry. Worship idols, lizards, snakes, &c. 

Contrary to the fundamental law of the country, that a purchased 
Slave should obtain his freedom. Capt. Hale. — Does not believe any wars 
are made on the sea-coast for the purpose of making Slaves. In the year 
1768, there was a very violent war, and the Slaves made in it were all 
either sold or massacred, none remained in the country. Mr. Barnes. — 
Crimes not imputed to procure Slaves. According to the established 
laws justice is strictly administered in Africa. Knows no country where 
it is more strictly so. He never heard of any who had been kidnapped 
by black traders. African wars not destructive. Do not much diminish 
the numbers of the people. Never heard that wars were made for the pur- 
pose of procuring Slaves, nor does he believe that such wars are practicable. 
Wars in Africa spring from the same causes as those carried on inEurope, 
there are also internal wars between chiefs and theft great men. Slaves 
not purchased below 14 years of age. Made Slaves at that age on charge 



141 



vated, that all her boasts of religion, and diffu- 
sion of religious knowledge, would not make 
atonement for them, nor all the laurels she has 

of witchcraft, the punishment for which involves the whole family. Mr. 
Wadstran. — Princes of the country chiefly Slave dealers and sellers. Ali 
trade is carried on by, and through their permission. At Senegal and Goree, 
Slaves, principally sold, are women and children. Some expressed no 
concern about the loss of their liberty, but the greater number do, par- 
ticularly the women. Mr. Dalrymple.— Every person who commits any 
sort of crime, is sold for a Slave. Crimes that were formerly punished 
in another way, are now punished in this. The Africans rarely punish 
with death. Domestic Slavery is common in the country. Some of these 
are born Slaves, and some become Slaves to the king. Mr. Poplett. — A 
fourth part of the Slaves are delinquents. Two-fourths more are Slaves 
born and bred in the country ; the other fourth part, he believes, are pri- 
soners of war. Slaves made to believe, by African priests, that white people 
kill and eat them. By this falsehood, they keep those in Africa in 
better subjection. Mr. Gandy. — Never heard of wars, or ravages in the 
country for the purpose of procuring Slaves; they came from a great 
distance in the interior. Slaves delinquents, sold for various crimes and 
debt. Never knew that any were kidnapped; it would be impossible 
for Europeans to kidnap them. Great number of Slaves born in these 
countries. Slaves come from very distant countries. Amongst these few 
women, and fewer children. System of Slavery prevails universally in the 
interior of Africa. Capt.Hale. — Slaves, from interior appeared happy at 
being bought, and when once on board, expressed great reluctance on being 
put ashore again. Mr. Penny. — Wars carried on by stratagem. Fear, 
ambition, interest, and resentment, cause these wars, and not begun merely 
to procure Slaves. The same causes occasioned wars in Africa before 
Europeans had any communication with that part of Africa. Three fourths 
of the inhabitants are Slaves in the country. Domestic Slaves never sold 
but for crimes. The crimes which reduce a man to Slavery, are murder, 
adultery, witchcraft, theft, and sometimes debt. Mr. Matthews. — Wars in 
Africa would be equally numerous, if Europeans had never visited them ; 
people very vindictive. Two kind of Slaves ; house Slaves, and plantation 
Slaves. The former considered as part of the family, and are educated * ; the 
* Jt is curious to fmd the same distinction amongst the Jews. Seepage 136- 



142 



gained for centuries, cover them from the eyes of 
an indignant world — an offended Deity. If any 
thing more than another could create surprise in 

iatter live in towns separate from their masters ; and whatever they have is 
^considered the master's property. Practice formerly to put prisoners of 
war to death, but now sell them to European sin preference. Rev. Mr. 
Newton. — Slaves purchased, two thirds males. Mr. Falconbridge. — Wo- 
men often entice men to commit adultery in order to accuse them after- 
wards, and get them condemned to Slavery. Mr. Norris believes that 
crimes are very seldom falsely imputed to them, in order to bring about 
their condemnation, and Sale. At that time, 1788, export Slaves from 
Africa supposed to be 74,000— of which British took 38.000. Mr. De- 
vaynes. — Wars in Africa caused by similar causes as wars in Europe; a 
war between Dahomey and Eyeo when he was there, and which cost 
60,000 lives, originated from a dispute about tribute. Slaves are brought 
from a very great distance in the interior, 800 or 900 miles. Mr. Mills. 
— Many Slaves sacrificed at their " Customs ;" the chiefs send each one or 
two, according to their wealth, to be sacrificed at the king's pleasure. 
" Nine out of ten, rejoice at falling into our hands. They know they are 
purchased for labour, and by their gestures wish to convince the pur- 
chaser that they are fit for it." Possessors of Slaves in Africa, who hold 
such by succession, cannot sell them but when guilty of a crime, tried 
and convicted. They may, however, sell such as they have purchased. 
Mr. Weuveu — Slaves being generally sold for crimes, are in reality glad 
to get away from Africa. Slaves not purchased by Europeans, are set aside 
for sacrifices. Mr. Dalzell. — Slaves do not regret their departure from 
Africa. Delinquents rejoice at it, because they know if they remained, 
that their lives are forfeited. Those who cannot be sold would certainly 
be put death. Admiral Edwards. — Slaves on the Gold Coast, are made 
so on account of their crimes. Adultery one crime. Offended party has 
a claim to the offenders, and also all their families. Saw the heads of seven 
of the wives, of a chief of Anamaboe upon a drum, which he had ordered 
to be cut off for adultery. Mr. Dalzell said, impossible for Europeans to 
kidnap negroes, and never heard that blacks did so. Every one who sells 
a Slave, pays a duty to the king of Dahomey, whose officces would soon 
detect any such practice. Mr. W. James. — Slaves sold to Europeans 
often prisoners of war. At Bonny has seen large war canoes come down 



141 



Mr. Clarkson's proceedings, it is that, in the 
face of his own assertions, he should talk of 
gradual abolition — of moments when that would 

with their prisoners, and some heads that had been cut off, were stuck 
upon poles as trophies of victory," &c. &c. Others state that many are 
procured by fraud, and force, by the natives, and their princes. 

Cause of the difference between the numbers of male and female Slaves 
arises from being prisoners of war, when in these wars women are taken 
as wives and men sold into Slavery ; and owing to polygamy, which could 
not exist without Slavery. At that time (1788) males preserved in the 
West Indies, more able for immediate work in new commenced planta- 
tions. The young women kept in Africa by the rich and powerful native 
chiefs as wives or concubines. The poorest man in Africa keeps one, 
two, or three wives — hence women more difficult to be procured than men. 
Traders for the West Indian market declined purchasing above one-third 
females. 

That the Slaves brought from Africa were really bought, is evident 
from the same Report, Part 4th, App. No. 1, where the export of British 
goods for the purchase of them (chiefly from Liverpool) was in 1786 
£888,738 ..2. .10., and in 1787 £668,255 ..14 ..4., while the imports 
from Africa, for the same years, were in each nearly £ 117,750. The 
imports into Liverpool from Africa and the West Indies were £895,778, 
and exports £823,881. 

The only way to civilize Africa, and teach the natives industry, would 
be to plant European Colonies amongst them. 

So far the Official Report — It is supported and confirmed by various 
other authorities : 

" We do not consider," says Abbe Proyart, speaking of Congo, " that 
the men whom they sell are enemies taken in war, and who, in many 
cases, they might have a right to put to death." " The number of fe- 
males," says the African Institution, page 62, ninth Report, " found on 
board Slave ships, is always much less than that of the males," at once 
establishing the truth of Proyart's statement, that the Slaves are prison- 
ers taken in war. « Witchcraft, the belief in which is general in Africa, 
is punished by Slavery. In Europe, the offender was burnt alive ! "All 
crimes great or small in Africa," says the Edinburgh Review, vol xvL 
p. 445, " are punished by Slavery!" Even the Slave factor, continues 
the same authority, page 61, is authorized by African law " to seize and 



144 



be practicable, and for the benefit of the Negroes 
themselves, as if these were considerations which 
impartial justice would or could consider in the 

sell for debt, his debtor, or the family, or even the townsmen of the 
debtor, in order so satisfy his demands." Even negroes returned from the 
coast, says the African Institution, Special Report , page 43, and ransomed at 
Sierra Leone, may, by the African law, be again sold previous to do- 
mestication. In his letter to the Duke of Gloucester, Appendix, page 5, 
Mr. Macaulay says, " in Africa, as is well known t there now exist two 
species of servitude, the one arising from captivity in war, the other from 
kidnapping, from debt, from the commission of certain crimes, real or 
imaginary — criminals are condemned to Slavery." Parents frequently sell 
their own children from the mere desire of getting money ; but more frequent- 
ly from distress and want during famines. " Ned Brown" says the Edin- 
burgh Review, vol. xx. p. 64, " was put on board the Brig Amelia, by 
Prince Conzee, his father, as a Slave. It is the custom of the country, for 
a man, when in want of money, &c. if he has three or four children, to 
sell one or more of them, and keep the others. His father sold him and 
his sister together; his sister is now here (Sierra Leone)." Mr. Stewart 
in his account of Jamaica, page 223, says, " I was eye witness to the 
scene, where a negro, who had been some years in the country, happen- 
ing one day to meet an elderly Slave, who had just been purchased from 
a Slave trader recently arrived, he recognized him as his father, who it 
seems had sold him to the Europeans. Without explanation or preface, 
he addressed to him a speech in his own country dialect, which he thus 
translated to the by-standers — so you old rogue, dem catch you at last — 
no — Buckra do good — you no care for your picaninne (child), but they 
will make you feel work — pinch too." 

Next, we haye the testimony of the respected and lamented Mr. Park, 
who informs us, that in Africa, " three-fourths " of the population are 
in a state of Slavery, and a Slave trade universal, where Europeans are 
not known. Bowditch, Browne, Burkhardt, &c. &c. all tell us the same 
tale, and that of districts where there is no communication with Euro- 
peans, or connection with them. 

That crime and captivity in war is the occasion of African Slavery, 
and that, otherwise, death is the fate of the vanquished or the cri- 
minal, we have the undeniable and incontrovertible testimony of that 
shrewd, sensible, and excellent man, Governor Ludlam, the Gentleman 



J45 



restitution of what has been unlawfully and un- 
justly obtained. The mere fact of gradual aboli- 
tion being admitted, advocated by Mr. Clarkson, 

employed by the African Institution as their Governor, when the members 
held that settlement as a commercial speculation. In his letter to Mr. 
Macaulay, dated April 14, 1807, and by the latter suppressed till 1815, 
Governor Ludlam says : — from the abolition of the Slave trade, " I must 
observe, that the administration of every African Government must be- 
come extremely severe if not extremely bloody. When so effectual a 
punishment as Slavery is done away, which yet, as it sheds no blood, is 
readily executed on petty criminals and in doubtful cases, severe punish- 
ments, and more terrible examples, must be introduced. Every ancient 
institution, the power of every hereditary chief, must now be sustained 
by blood, instead of Slavery. It is true, that through the Slave trade, 
the punishment of many small crimes has been raised into Slavery ; but 
it is no less true, that the punishment of some great ones "has been sunk 
into it. When it is no longer worth while to catch them by surprise, 
and hold them as a pledge of justice, the injured party must make war ; 
and kill his neighbour's people in revenge, since he cannot sell them for 
satisfaction." 

Governor Ludlam knew Africa too well to be deceived. His predic- 
tions are daily verified. 

HUMAN SACRIFICES IN AFRICA. 

The evidence taken before the Committee of the Privy Council, which 
went to substantiate the fact that human sacrifices were frequent in Africa, 
and that Slaves and prisoners of war, when the latter could not be sold, 
were doomed tq that fate, was either ridiculed, disbelieved, or forgotten, 
by those who are inclined to believe every thing but the truth regarding 
Africa. Subsequent testimony, however, which cannot be clamoured 
down as proceeding from men interested in our West India Colonies, and 
the Slave trade, establish these terrible truths in their most hideous and 
disgusting realities. Mr. Bowditch, the official agent of the British so- 
vereign to the King of Ashantee, has, in that capacity, told us what he 
repeatedly witnessed. The palace of the sovereign and houses of his 
chiefs are decorated with piles of human skulls — their war drums are also 
adorned with skulls and thigh-bones of victims secretly and publicly led 
to immolation amidst the most barbarous cruelties. Such, in a particular 

L 




14G 



overthrows all his mischievous declamation, de- 
clares that he is convinced in his own mind, that 
the Slaves in our West India Colonies are not 
and have not been unlawfully and unjustly ob- 
tained. 

manner, is witnessed at the gTeat " Yam Custom," and upon the death or 
the anniversary of the death of any of the royal family or persons of 
rank. 

" The decease of a person," says Bowditch, " is announced by a dis- 
charge of musquetry, proportionate to his rank, or the wealth of his fa- 
mily. In an instant you see a crowd of Slaves burst from the house, and 
run towards the bush, flattering themselves that the hindmost, or those 
surprised in the house will furnish the human victims for sacrifice if they 
can but secrete themselves till the Custom is over. The body is then hand- 
somely dressed in silk and gold, and laid out on the bed, the richest 
clothes beside it. One or two Slaves are sacrificed at the door of the 
house. I shall describe the Custom for Quatchie Quofie's mother, which 
we witnessed August the 2d. It was by no means a great one, but it 
will give a most correct idea of these splendid, but barbarous ceremonies. 

The king, Quatchie Quofie, and Odumata, each sacrificed a young 
girl, directly after the deceased had breathed her last, that she might not 
want for an attendant until the greater sacrifice was made. Contribu- 
tions of rum, cloth, gold, and powder, were received from friends to ex- 
pend at the custom. We walked to Assafoo about twelve o'clock; the vul- 
tures were hovering round two headless trunks scarcely cold. Several 
troops of women, from fifty to a hundred in each, were dancing by 
movements resembling skaiting, lauding and bewailing the deceased in the 
most dismal, yet not discordant strains. The faces, arms, and breasts of 
these women were profusely daubed with red earth, in horrid emulation 
of those who had succeeded in besmearing themselves with the blood of 
the victims. Now and then a victim was hurried by, generally dragged 
or run along at full speed; the uncouth dress, and the exulting coun- 
tenances of those who surrounded him, likening them to as many fiends. 
I observed apathy more frequently than despair or emotion in the looksof 
the victims. " The King, chiefs, and the multitude with horns and fire-arms 
assembled. Quatchie Quofie hurried by, plunging from side to side like a 
Bachanal. The victims, with large knives driven through their cheeks^ 



147 



The object of the enemies of the Colonies in 
making these assertions and mis-statements can- 
not be mistaken. They calculate that these, 

eyed him with indifference, he them with a savage joy, bordering on phren- 
zy : insults were aggravated on the one, flattery lavished on the other." 

" We followed to the market-place. Thirteen victims, surrounded by 
their executioners, whose shaggy black caps and vests gave them the ap- 
pearance of bears rather than men, were pressed together by the crowd 
to the left of the King. The troops of women, before described, paraded 
without the circle vociferating the ' dirge.' Discharges of musquetry, 
bellowing, drinking palm wine, commence the ceremony. * An old 
hag,' described as the head fetish woman of the family, screamed and 
plunged about in the midst of the fire of the musquetry, as if in the 
greatest agonies. The principal females of the family, many of them 
very handsome, and of elegant figures, came forward to dance ; dressed 
generally in yellow silk, with a silver knife hung by a chain round their 
necks. The drums announced the sacrifice of the victims. The execu- 
tioners wrangled and struggled for the office, and the indifference with 
which the first poor creature looked on, in the torture he was from the 
knife passed through his cheeks, was remarkable : the nearest execu- 
tioner snatched the sword from the others ; the right hand of the victim 
was then lopped off ; he was thrown down, and his head was sawn rather 
than cut off ; it was cruelly prolonged, I will not say wilfully. Twelve 
more were dragged forward, but we forced our way through the crowd, 
and returned to our quarters. Other sacrifices, principally female, were 
made in the bush where the body was burned. It is usual to 4 wet the 
grave' with the blood of a freeman of respectability. All the retainers of 
the family being present, and the heads of all the victims deposited in 
the bottom of the grave, several are unsuspectingly called on in a hurry 
to assist in placing the coffin or basket, and, just as it rests on the 
heads or skulls, a slave from behind stuns one of these freemen by a 
violent blow, followed by a deep gash in the back part of the neck, and 
he is rolled in on the top of the body, and the grave instantly filled up. 
A sort of carnival, varied by firing, drinking, singing, and dancing, was 
kept up in Assafoo for several days. But for the approaching war and 
the necessary economy of powder, there wot^M have been eight great 

L 2 



146 



while they pave the way to emancipation with- 
out compensation, will irritate and mislead the 
people of this country so far as to induce them 

customs instead of one for this woman; one weekly, the king himself 
firing the last." 

" On the death of a king, all the customs which had been made for the 
subjects who have died during his reign, must be simultaneously repeated 
by the families (the human sacrifices as well as the carousal) to amplify 
that for the monarch, which is also solemnized, independently, but at 
the same time in every excess of extravagance and barbarity. The bro- 
thers, sons, and nephews of the king, affecting temporary insanity, burst 
forth with their musquets, and fire promiscuously amongst the crowd ; 
even a man of rank, if they meet him, is their victim ; nor is their murder 
of him or any other, on such an occasion, visited or prevented ; the scene 
can scarcely be imagined. I was assured by several that the custom for 
Sai Quamina was repeated weekly for three months, and that two hun- 
dred and fifty Slaves were sacrificed, and 25 barrels of powder fired 
each time. But the custom for the king's mother, the regent of the 
kingdom during the invasion of the Fantees, is the most remarkable 
and bloody. The king of himself devoted 3000 victims (upwardr of 2000 
of whom were Fantee prisoners), and 25 barrels of powder. Dwakin, 
Kokofoo, Beequa, Soota, and Marmpong, furnished 100 victims, and 20 
barrels of powder t>«e/i,and most of the smaller towns 10 victims, and two 
barrels of powder each." 

" About a hundred persons, chiefly culprits reserved, are generally sa- 
crificed in different quarters of the town at the yam custom. Several 
Slaves were also sacrificed at Bantuma, over the large brass pan, their 
blood mingling with the various vegetable and animal matter within 
(fresh and putrified), to complete the charm, and produce invincible 
fetish. All the chiefs kill several Slaves, that their blood may flow into 
the hole from whence the new yam is taken, Those who cannot afford 
to kill Slaves, take the head of one already sacrificed and place it on the 
hole*." 

Such are the African chiefs— such the state of " our African brethren" 



* B&wditch, p. 279, 282, 2S9. 



149 



to take the regulation of the internal affairs of 
the Colonies into their own hands, and adopt 
the ulterior measures which the opponents of the 
Colonies have in view, and which, if adopted, 
will seal the destruction of our Colonial interest 
in the West, and assist those projectors in the 
speculation in which they are inclined to vest 
their property, whether in the East or in any 
other quarter. 

With the usual liberality of the Colonial ad- 
versaries, who are compelled to have recourse 
to declamatory accusation for want of facts, I 

free frcm European interference, incitement, or controul — such the horrid 
scenes and rivers of blood which daily flow in Africa ! Yet Ashantee 
is not a country inhabited by savages, but by a people who are possessed 
of several of the improvements of civilized life, and since we find them 
so ignorant and ferocious, what must the mere savages inhabiting other 
parts of Africa be ? 

Capt. Knight of H. M. S. Snapper, in his despatch to Mr. Croker, 
dated August 5, 1821, in old Calabar River (Far. Papers No. 223, p. 12, 
Session 1823,) thus writes: — " I am very sorry to inform you, Sir, that 
the most horrible practice of human sacrifice (Slaves) is carried on here 
to an extent that I could not have believed mankind in any state to 
have been capable of, much less people, who, in all other respects, have 
arrived at an astonishing degree of civilization, and have left all 
other Africans that I have seen, very far behind them. To my expostu- 
lations M ith Duke Ephraim, upon the subject, he answered, that as we 
hinder the sale of their Slaves, they take such means to rid themselves nf 
them. This barbarous custom is performed with singular ferocity, being 
accompanied with dancing, music, and shouts of joy ; while the 
heads of the victims are tossed about in all directions. A few days ago 
there were twelve beheaded on the beach, in sight of all the crews of 
the shipping." Surely the African Institution will not deny these au- 
thorities. 



150 

shall, no doubt, because I have adduced all these 
facts, be set down as the advocate of Slavery 
and the Slave trade. My object and views are 
very different. I have stated these facts and re- 
ferred to them, and been called upon to state and 
refer to them, in order to refute and repel the 
foul but unfounded charge, and calumnious as- 
sertion, that the Slaves in our Colonies were 
" stolen? — obtained by u the most atrocious 
fraud and violence." And having done this, 1 
have shown that the masters of them, on every 
principle of law and justice, have a legal claim 
and right to them, and that when the nation 
changes her laws and takes them away, she can- 
not do so without full and complete compensa- 
tion. 



CHAPTER VI. 



Mr. Clark-sons and the Reviewer s statements of the 
success of free labour by emancipated Slaves examined 
and refuted — has every where failed. — In Sierra 
Leone, — Miserable state of that place — trade thereof 
— deceptions practised upon this country regarding 
it. — A great burden to us — yields no returns. — Ame- 
rican negroes set free in Trinidad — interesting and 
important account — their character — work little- 
great expense of their labour — cannot be depended 
upon in any way — cultivation of Sugar cannot be 
carried on with them, — Tortola Negroes set free by 
Mr. Nottingham, and the apprenticed Africans. — 
Gross mis-statements put forward regarding them by 
Mr. Clarksmi and the African Institution. — Culti- 
vate no produce for exportation — A striking in- 
stance of the fallacy of the arguments of the Eman- 
cipation Society exhibited in the state of these very 
people, &c. 

^IR. Clarkson having to his own satisfaction^ 
settled the point that the Colonial proprietors 
have no legal title to their Slaves^ and conse- 
quently that they should receive no compensation 
for them when taken away, proceeds to dwell 
upon the safety of emancipating the Negroes., 



152 



and the superior cheapness of free labour. To 
establish this point, he adduces several instances 
in his own way. It is impossible to follow Mr. 
Clarkson in every line, but I shall bring his 
statements into as narrow a compass as possible, 
and do so without misrepresenting or mistating 
them. In every instance that he has adduced, 
the fact will be found to be the reverse of what 
he states. 

The first instance of emancipated negroes 
having answered the expectations of their friends, 
which Mr. Clarkson adduces, is the case of the 
Nova Scotian blacks, or rather the blacks which 
were enlisted into our service, in our revolted 
provinces, during the American war. These 
? two thousand and upwards in number, com- 
prehending men, women, and children," were, 
says he, after having settled in Nova Scotia, a 
very improper climate, ultimately u conveyed to 
Sierra Leone. There they realized the object 
in view ; and they are to be found there, they or 
their descendants, most of them independent, 
and some of them in affluent circumstances, at 
the present day # ." 

It is very difficult to know exactly what object 
the African Institution had in view, in settling 
these blacks at Sierra Leone, and therefore we 
cannot judge correctly of its realization. Mr. 

* Clarkson's u Thoughts:' 



153 



Clarkson is, I believe, a member of the African 
Institution ; he reads its reports, he sanctions 
and approves of them. These tell us a different 
tale about these Nova Scotian blacks, whether a 
true one or not, it is Mr. Clarkson* s business, not 
mine, to ascertain. In the first place, the Nova 
Scotia blacks composed, it may be said, the po- 
pulation of Sierra Leone. Fourteen hundred at 
the second settlement, says Mr. Clarkson, were 
placed there; and the Special Report, page 19, 
informs us, that till 1801, the population of the co- 
lony never exceeded from 1200 to 2000 persons. 
The ninth Report, page 53, tells us that the first 
settlers * were indisposed to agricultural la- 
bour " — u indisposed to the drudgery of cutting 
wood and planting farms, preferring other 
modes of employment, particularly trading among 
the natives." The Special Report of 1815, 
however, comes a little more to the point. 
First, as to the character of these people. 
* When the nature of the population of that 
Colony is considered, composed as it is of 
Nova Scotia blacks, who, in early life were ha- 
bituated to all the licence which is incident to 
a state of Slavery ; of Maroons " (Maroons 
were not Slaves) * who in Jamaica lived in the 
practice of polygamy, and of the other vices 
which disfigure the face of society in our West 



154 



India Islands; and of native Africans, as ret 
unacquainted with the obligations of Christian- 
ity, or the restraints of civilized life," — the Di- 
rectors were what? — why " not surprised at 
the disordered state of the Colony, &c* in 
page 19 it is stated, That " many of the settlers 
quitted the Colony and fixed themselves in Slave 
factories" — page 20 — that " the)^ abandoned cul- 
tivation — became again dependent upon the 
Company for their subsistence, and not a few 
migrated to Slave factories" — in page 61 it is 
repeated — " many of the settlers became Slave 
traders " — in page 59 we are told of " the unfa- 
vourable character of the settlers during the first 
eight years" — in page 60 of " the turbulence 
of the settlers" — and in page 10, previous 
to the year 1800, that " the Colonists contri- 
buted nothing towards defraying the expenses 
of the Colony" — in page 118 we are told that 
" many of them abandoned the Colony and left 
the farms to desolation" — in page 19 it is stated 
that " in the year 1800 an effort of some of the 
Colonists to possess themselves of the supreme 
power ended in an insurrection" — and finally, 
and to clench the whole, the ninth Report, page 
52, says " on a late census, the European, 
Nova Scotian, and Maroon men in the Colony, 
amounted to between three and four hundred,, 



155 



(only) not more than one third of whom are able 
to support themselves without the necessity of 
resorting to some manual employment" — and at 
page 57 that the captured Negroes neither com- 
mitted so many crimes, nor were punished so 
often, as an equal number of other classes of the 
community". 

Here is a fine prospect from their own pens 
of" the realization of the object in view" — of af- 
fluence and independence, the lamentable pros- 
pect of a body of 2500 persons (men chiefly) 
being in the short space of twenty years reduced 
to less than 400 ! in this land of peace, freedom, 
and happiness. Within that time, had their free- 
dom produced the effects, so much boasted of, 
they ought to have doubled their numbers. Will 
Mr. Clarkson, I ask, deny or dispute the autho- 
rity here adduced ? 

By their own reports it is admitted, that num- 
bers of these liberated negroes left the Colony. 
The reason is not stated. Dr. Thorpe states, 
and offered to prove if permitted, that this was 
owing to barbarous treatment. They were ill 
fed, ill clothed, and most cruelly and unmer- 
cifully punished, by flogging. Young girls 
were let out for the purpose of prostitution. 
The marriages instituted amongst them were a 
mere mockery ; " wives were changed at plea- 



156 

sure", and a "promiscuous depopulating inter- 
course" was carried on between the sexes, 
without censure, hindrance, or reproach. 

But it may be said matters have been subse- 
quently mended. Perhaps they have been so. 
The public have little means of judging of the 
transactions at Sierra Leone, which are carefully 
kept from public investigation. But that the 
civilization and usefulness of the natives are in- 
creased, does not at all appear from reference 
to the trade of the place, as compared with 
that of other parts of Africa. The reverse is in- 
deed the case. The Colony, it would appear, 
raises no exportable produce ; and notwithstand- 
ing all the advantages lavished upon it, Sir 
George Collier informs us, in his official Report, 
1822, that in 1821, " the streets of Freetown are 
as much overrun with grass and indigo as for- 
merly yet not even that indigo spontaneously 
produced is manufactured and exported ! 

Mr. Clarkson, page 17, would fain per- 
suade us that Sierra Leone is now a para- 
dise. The population is 14,000. It should 
have been treble that amount from the num- 
ber of persons transported into it. u The 
people there are now fallen into the habits 

* Dispatch, 27th December, 1821 .—Parliamentary Paper, page 1-5, 
No. 223, of Session 1822. 



of civilized society, Their lands shew the marks 
of industrious cultivation. Many of them, after 
having supplied their wants for the year, employ 
a surplus produce in the purchase of superflui- 
ties as comforts". Well, this " surplus" produce, 
" the fruits of industrious cultivation 79 9 must be 
sold to some persons. It would have been but 
fair and candid in Mr. Clarkson, to have told us 
what that produce was, and to what part of the 
world it is exported. Certainly it is not imported 
into G reat Britain in any such quantity as to shew 
this industrious cultivation, or rather not in a 
quantity to shew any cultivation at all. Liverpool 
and London are the great ports for the trade with 
Western Africa. The imports from thence speak 
for themselves. These are evidence which 
cannot be contradicted. The imports for last 
year are subjoined*, and shew us that while 



* Articles imported at Liverpool and London from Western Africa, 
from the 1st January, 1823, viz : — 



From Sierra Leone. 

July 14th. Triton, with 331 logs 
teak wood, and about 30 tons cam- 
wood. 

July 25th. Lady Combermere, 
with 122 casks palm oil, 248 ele- 
phant's teeth, 3 tons gum copal, 5 
puns. 26 casks and barrels bees 
wax. 

Oct. 6th. Elisabeth, with 412 
pieces teak wood, and about 9^ tons 
camwood. 

Britannia, ditto, 4^ tons cam- 
Avood, 382 logs teak wood, 20 logs 
center wood, and a steam en nine 
#nd rice milt returned. 



From other parts o f Western coast. 

March 24th. Transit, with 641 
casks palm oil, 2,830 elephant's 
teeth, 15 tons red wood loose, 
2,500 lbs. gum copal. 

July 7th. Mary, with 825 casks 
palm oil, 1,752 elephant's teeth, 
35 seamorse teeth, 58 bags guinea 
pepper, 3 boxes gold and silver, 15 
tons vane wood, and 1 case and 3 
casks gum copal. 

July 7th. Margaret, with 159 
casks palm oil. 

August 25th. Fame, with 186 
casks palm oil, 3 puncbeons and 4 
barrels bees wax, loose about 20 



158 



various articles the produce of the industry 
of the natives, coroe from other parts of the coast, 
not any thing deserving that name comes from 



Imports to London from Sierra 
Leone for the same period. 

Feb. 7th. Sierra Leone, Bedford, 
70 logs teak timber, 1 cask scri- 
velloes, 64 pieces bees wax, 78 
elephant's teeth, 3 casks, 6 bags 
gum copal, 122 hides, and 10 tons 
camwood. 

April 25th. Harriet, 62 casks 
palm oil, 349 elephant's teeth, 6 
sea horse ditto, a pipe Madeira 
wine, 2 jars guinea pepper (part 
from coast included.) 

July 11th. Caroline, Betsey and 
Ann, Juliana, 302 logs timber, 
2,764 billets, 41 tons camwood, 1 
box bees wax, 74 bags 8 casks 
rice, 16 casks 1 box gum copal, 
303 logs 20 ends teak timber. 

July 18th. Eleanor, 62 logs Afri- 
can timber, 271 billets camwood. 

July 25th. Joseph, 20 casks oil, 
23 seamorse teeth, 72 ivory teeth, 
733 elephant's teeth and scrivelloes, 
3 packages bees wax, 2 casks skins 
or hides, 2 casks Mallagette pepper, 
1 bag tortoise shell, 102 hides, and 

I cask scrivelloes. 

Sept. 12th. Harriett, 220 logs 
teak timber, 15 tons and 1,637 bil- 
lets camwood, 201 hides, 67 bags 
5 tons rough rice. 

Hope, 5,800 cow and calf skins, 
7 leopard skins, 180 cakes wax, 5 
bags gum, 18 casks palm oil, 417 
pieces ivory, 6 tons camwood. 

Glory, 296 logs 18 packages teak 
timber, 2,097 billets camwood, 

I I casks gum. 

Oct. 3d. Ranger, 1 1 casks guinea 
grains, 21 casks 2 casks bark, 30 
legers, 19 pipes 28 puncheons 4 
casks palm oil, and 428 elephant's 
teeth. 

Elisabeth, 54 casks palm oil, 
909 billets camwood, 126 bags 
chilloes, a quantity guinea grains, 



cwt. do., 436 elephant's teeth, and 
5 tons fire wood. 

Sept. 1st. Neptune, with 1,144 
casks palm oil, 7 elephant's teeth, 
and about 20 tons dunnage wood. 

Aries, with 249 casks palm oil, 
31 casks 14J barrels gum copal, 
1,334 elephant's teeth, 4 barrels 
and 1^ barrels pepper, 1£ barrels 
bees wax, 32 seamorse teeth loose, 
about 15 cwts. gum copal. 

Sept. 8th. William Rathbone, 
with 1,090 casks palm oil, 74 ele- 
phant's teeth, 6 puns, gum copal, 
J box bird's skins, 20 tons dun- 
nage wood, and 1 hogshead wine. 

Sept. 15th. Morning Star, with 
158 casks palm oil, 4 puncheons 
1 hogshead 5 barrels 37 bags 
coffee, and 563 elephant's teeth. 

James, with 615 casks palm oil, 
361 elephant's teeth, two boxes 
specie, and 15 tons fire wood. 

Oct. 6th. Hope, with 27 logs teak 
wood, 134 elephant's teeth, 2 casks 
gum copal, about 11 tons cam- 
wood, 81 casks palm oil, 31 casks 
bees wax, 6,825 ox hides, 300 pieces 
hides, and 300 calf skins. 

Heywood, with 969 casks palm 
oil, 15 elephant's teeth, 52 bags 
guinea pepper, 4 tons old copper, 
and some returned goods. 

Oct. 13th. with 157 

casks bees wax, 60 bags gum Sene- 
gal, 395 elephant's teeth, 6296 hides, 
1 box dollars, 1 bag gold, goods 
returned (Gambia). 

Oct. 20th. with 966 

casks palm oil, 10 elephant's teeth, 
10 tons dunnage wood, 14 pieces 
East India goods returned. 

AT LONDON. 
Feb. 7th. Samtiel and Sarah, 
with 333 puncheons, 7 pipes, 46 
hogsheads, 2 barrels 1 quarter 
cask palm oil, 1 box seamorse 



159 



Sierra Leone. The small quantity of palm oil and 
elephant's teeth are procured from other parts of 
the coast in a coasting trade, from states where 



4 elephant's teeth, 2 packages scri- 
villoes, 1 box seamorse teeth. 

Indian Traveller, 255 logs teak 
timber, 1 cask coffee, 2 casks wax, 
3 casks elephant's teeth, 1 ditto 
chilloes, 1 cask honey, 1 cask ivory, 
6 casks gum copal, 2 casks old 
copper, 2 bags arrow root, 211 
hides, 15 tons and 19 cwt cam- 
wood. 



teeth, 20 boxes, 1 parcel gold dust, 
135 teeth, 3 casks, 1 ,630 scrivilloes, 
50 ditto and scraggs, 196 teeth 
ivory. 

Feb. 14th. Accra, Adonis, 280 
elephant's teeth, 9 seamorse teeth, 
93 puncheons palm oil, 335 scri- 
villoes. 

March 21st, Isles des Los, Hope, 
14 logs timber, 52 casks palm oil, 
7 6 casks bees wax, 419 pieces ivory, 
2,815 ox and cow hides, 59 sea 
morse teeth, 1 cask pepper and 
ginger, 1 box gum copal, 9 tons 
camwood, 26 bundles old rope, 8 
leopard skins. 



At London from other parts Western Coast. 

April 4th. Sarah, 987 cakes bees wax, 9,345 hides and pieces, 4 boxes 
bird skins, 1 box ostrich feathers, 268 elephant's teeth and scrivilloes, 18 
boxes gum copal. 

April 11th. Zeno, 12,024 hides, 550 bullock horns, 172 pieces ivory, 
862 cakes wax, and 7 elephant's teeth. 

July 4th. St. Mary's, James, 1,050 cakes bees wax, 129 pieces ivory, 
33 pieces timber, 18,512 hides and pieces, 41 leopard skins, 480 pieces 
camwood, 76 logs timber, 1 bundle timber. 

July 18th. Accra, Fairy Queen, 138 elephant's teeth, 110 pieces ebony, 
20 puns. 44 hodgsheads oil, 6 puncheons, 8 hogsheads, 1 bag bees 
wax. 

Thomas, 392 sacks, 8 casks gum, 66 seroons almonds, and 1 case os- 
trich feathers. 

July 25th. Accra, Sylvia, 146 casks palm oil, 1 seamorse teeth, 1,290 
elephant's teeth, 1 bag cotton, 6 casks guinea grains. 

Accra and C. Coast, Caledonia, 163 casks oil, 9 seamorse teeth, 758 
elephant's teeth, and scrivelloes. 

August 1st. C. Coast C. and Elmina, Woodbume, 93 casks palm oil, 
224 elephant's teeth, 430 scrivelloes, 1 seamorse teeth, and 3 casks 
pepper. 

August 29th. St. Mary's, Trafalgar, 5,580 whole and pieces hides, 
215 elephant's teeth and pieces, 2 bags gum copal, a parcel camwood, 
412 cakes bees wax. 

Sept. 12th. Cape de Verde, John Echlin, 360 bags orchella, 105 hogs- 
heads ox hides, 720 goat skins, 1 box shells, 1 box raisins. 

George and James, 988 cakes bees wax, 8,323 hides and pieces, 8 leo- 
pard skins, 17 elephant's teeth and pieces, 25 logs wood, 337 billets 
camwood. 

Oct. 3rd. Hamblctonian, 80 tons gum Senegal, 1 trunk bird skins, 1 
leopard and 1 deer skin, 1 parcel feathers, and 1 box plants. 



160 



there are Slaves, Teak wood is not the produce 
of the labour of the population. The particulars 
stated in these imports, have only to be noticed 
to shew the indolence and ignorance of the Co- 
lonists at Sierra Leone, and that " the indus- 
trious cultivation " boasted of by Mr. Clarkson, 
exists only in his own brain. With the excep- 
tion of 8 casks, 141 bags, 5 tons rough Rice, and 
one cask Coffee, there is nothing that can be set 
down as the produce of that Colony, even if the 
Rice was raised in it, which is very doubtful. The 
other articles are chiefly produced in places, more 
or less distant from the Colony, except teak 
wood, and are brought to Sierra Leone in coast- 
ers, and from the districts inland, in exchange for 
the very trifling articles of merchandise sent out 
from the capital, Freetown. Mr. Clarkson will 
not surely tell us that teak wood is the produce of 
the industry of Sierra Leone. Fortunately for its 
present race of inhabitants, it was planted there 
before their day. 

Such is the situation of Sierra Leone, made the 
capital of Western Africa, cultivated by free 
labourers, supported, first by the unlimited sup- 

St. Marys, Sarah, 1,532 cakes bees wax, 197 elephant's teeth and 
pieces, 7,670 hides and pieces, 940 billets camwood, 13 logs timber, 
2 casks honey, 2 cases bird skins. 

Oct. 10th. Cape de Verde, Alpha, 1,630 bags orchella. 

Dec. 16th. Kitty, 128 casks palm oil, 42 elephant's teeth, 202 scrivel- 
loes, 2,002 pieces camwood. 



161 



plies of a great monied company, and afterwards 
by the unlimited aid of the British Government. 
Yet after thirty-two years of Colonization, and 
an addition to its population from all quarters, 
we find scarcely any produce exported from it, 
and all the cargoes of vessels, in comparison 
with those from other parts of the African coast, 
scanty., and of little value, and no increase of 
population, but in fact a diminution to 14,000. 
There w r ere no West India Slave masters there 
to disturb their tranquillity and prosperity, and 
either free negroes are not that industrious race 
which we are taught to believe, or there is some- 
thing most grievously wrong in all that concerns 
the government of the Colony. What hinders 
it from producing Colonial produce? The mar- 
ket of the world is open to it for every article. 
The geographical position indeed, is the very 
worst that could possibly have been chosen for 
commanding and concentrating the trade of 
Africa. Still there must be something greatly de- 
ficient in the industry and knowledge of its pre- 
sent population. Amongst these are to be in- 
cluded Mr. Clarkson's " third Case" of eman- 
cipated negroes, viz. the discharged soldiers of 
the West India Regiments, " many hundreds 
of whom were set at liberty at once," and fixed 

M 



162 



in Sierra Leone # . Of these, it is sufficient for 
my subject to observe, that they form part of that 
population whose unproductive labours have just 
been considered, and who, when their influence 
shall have extended in the Colony, and their as- 

* It would have been satisfactory, had Mr. Clarkson stated the exact 
number of persons introduced into, and liberated in, Sierra Leone. In 
1787 there were 400; and next in 1792, first 1 ,400 Nova Scotian blacks, 
and subsequently 512 Maroons from Jamaica. The number which left 
Jamaica, April 16th 1816, was 159 men, 152 women, and \52 children, 
and 43 men runaways, and 6 women, total 512. From the 9th Re- 
port, page 52, we find that 1,500 captured negroes were introduced, 
under the government of Captain Columbine, in 1810. The Special Re- 
port, 1815, p. Ill and 112, enumerates nine towns inhabited (exclusive 
of the capital) by captured negroes ; in the last enumerated of which, 
Hogbrook, there were " upwards of 600 inhabitants." Yet the same 
Report, p. 63 states, that the total number of captured negroes received 
into Sierra Leone, till the 9th July, 1814, was only 5,925, 1,968 of 
whom had entered into the army or navy. 

In this dilemma and state of darkness, regarding the state and nature of 
the population of Sierra Leone, the Missionary Register, of December, 
1822, comes to our relief with a ray of brilliant light, and shews us the 
great advantages of the Sierra Leone " marriage tie," in augmenting 
African population. 



Population, Sierra Leone. 

July 8th 1820. 



Jan. 1st 1823. 



Europeans - -- -- -- - 120 

Maroons - -- -- -- -- 594 

Nova Scotians 730 

West Indians and Americans - - - — 



128 
601 
722 



85 



Natives - - 1,046 

Liberated Africans 8,076 

Disbanded soldiers 1,216 

Kroomen - -- -- - - - 727 



3,526 
7,969 
1,103 
947 



Total 12,500 15,081 
N.B. 11 ? 000 liberated Africans in Colony on the 1st August, 1821, 



163 



tendency from ft their knowledge of the use of 
arms" have become more formidable, may do 
what their predecessors, the Nova Scotian blacks 
did, namely, " attempt to possess themselves of the 
supreme power # ." The quiet submission of the li- 
berated negroes has yet to be put to the test — I re- 
peat it, yet to be put to the test. Assembled as 
they are, rude and ignorant savages, from every 
nation of Africa, dissimilar in their manners, each 
unacquainted with the language of the other, and 
without any means of removing speedily that ob- 
struction to communication, some time must 
elapse before they can act together, form any 

* The Bahama official Report gives a deplorable account of the con- 
duct of some of these disbanded soldiers. " The disbanded soldiers that 
have occasionally found their way to these islands, have uniformly been 
the veriest vagrants in existence. Of the last two that found the 
means of living here for any length of time, one was hanged about 
eighteen months ago for burglary, and the other saved his neck only by 
turning king's evidence against his companion." (Report, page 18.) 

The number however, even had there been no natural increase, should 



have stood thus : — 

Nova Scotians - 2,000 

Maroons - - - 530 

Disbanded soldiers - - - - 1,216 

Kroomen, say - - - . 800 

Natives 3,526 

West Indians and N. Americans - 85 

8,157 

Europeans - - - - - 128 

Liberated Africans, say only - - 30,000 

Total 38,285 

M 2 



164 



tiling like a combined plan, or express any thing 
like their general opinion, But let these impe- 
diments once be removed, and I will hazard a 
prediction, that if Great Britain keeps Sierra 
Leone in future as a Colony, she must keep it 
with a vastly increased military force and at the 
point of the bayonet. 

Mr. Clarkson takes as a " second case" the negroes carried off from 
the United States last war, liberated and placed in Trinidad, as free la- 
bourers. " The Governor, Sir Pialph W^oodford resisted the prejudices 
of the planters," who maintained that these negroes " would never work 
for hire," but " support themselves by plunder. The result," says 
Mr. Clarkson, " has shewn the discernment of the Governor. These 
very men, formerly Slaves in the Southern States of America, and after- 
wards emancipated in a body in Trinidad, are now earning their own 
livelihood, and with so much industry and good conduct, that the 
calumnies originally spread against them have entirely died away *." 

On what authority Mr. Clarkson states this I 
know not, and he has not told us, and it would 
perhaps be imprudent in him to disclose. These 
Slaves so unjustly and impoliticly carried away, 
were claimed by the American Government, and 
by the decision of the Emperor of Russia, to 
whom the matter was referred, their value was 
very lately paid by this country. These people 
were placed under the care of a superintendant 
with a very high salary, it is said of 30s. per 
day, and who at the same time employed several 
of them, while supported by this country, in 
clearing and cultivating an estate of his own, 

* Clarkson's " Thoughts" page 



165 

from the produce of which, I have heard that he 
has sent home to this country presents of Sugar, 
to shew how cheap it could be raised by free 
labour. At the same time, so much trouble had 
he with these negroes, that, if I am not misin- 
formed from the authority of those who ought to 
know, he has again and again publicly declared, 
that if he had Slaves of his own sufficient to cul- 
tivate his estate, he would employ none of them. 

But to come a little closer to the point and to 
shew " the industry and good conduct" of these 
liberated American negroes, I had, and that 
only a few weeks ago, an opportunity of learning 
something of these people and their conduct from 
an old friend, the proprietor of an estate situated 
in the midst of them, and who has sometimes had 
occasion to employ them because he could not do 
better. His account, which I believe is the cor- 
rect one, (and the proceedings of the council at 
Trinidad will confirm it) differs very widely in- 
deed from that put forward by Mr. Clarkson. 

" When hired to work, they generally appear upon Tuesday. The after- 
noon is occupied in supplying them with provisions; and as they work 
for pay, half in money, half in provisions, in order to save themselves 
trouble, any estate employing- them, is reduced to the necessity of sup- 
plying and keeping up a huxter's shop. On Wednesday morning they 
commence work, and continue till Friday afternoon, when they leave off, 
depart, and are seen no more at work, till the following Wednesday 
morning. The provisions they obtain on Tuesday, serve till the fol- 
lowing Friday afternoon, when they obtain a fresh supply of fish, beef, 



166 



flour, pork, as may be, and also of rum. Though engaged by piece work, 
there is no dependence upon them, and there being no check, they leave 
the employer when, and as they please ; which in crop time, when a great 
quantity of canes may be cut, and which soon spoil, occasions great loss 
to the helpless agriculturist, as he cannot replace the labourer so absenting 
himself, as may be done in this country. 

The number of these people was originally 500. They dwell in small 
villages adjacent to each other, in the southern part of the island. In 
some of these villages there are small chapels, where black preachers 
occasionally perform service on Sundays to very thin congregations ; but 
there are no white established clergy. As they are free and independent, 
they disperse themselves about the country, wherever they please, par- 
ticularly on Sunday, and no one pays any attention to them with regard 
to education, or instruction. They are their own masters, and in those 
respects do as they please. Their general character is very bad. They 
do not attend church regularly, but rather loiter about their own houses, 
or wander about the country. They are dissipated and drunken, and in 
no way to be depended upon, nor does my friend think any reliance could 
be placed upon them, in case of actual revolt in the Colony. They often run 
in debt, by getting advances, and then leave their creditors without payment. 
Their houses are generally inferior in neatness and comfort, within and 
without, to those belonging to the negroe Slaves. They are also in general 
worse clothed than the latter, by whom they are despised and hated, because 
on the different estates where they are emploj^ed, they go about intriguing 
with, and debauching, the wives of the more respectable negroes, thus 
occasioning frequent and dangerous quarrels. Though they have wives of 
their own in their villages, yet on the estates where employed, they are no- 
torious for forming immoral connections, with the female Slaves, during 
their temporary residence ; while at the same time they often encourage the 
Slaves, more especially females, to run away from their master's proper- 
ties, in order to get them to work for them, or cohabit with them, or both. 
Both in character, steadiness, and usefulness, they are inferior to steady 
Slave negroes. They are many of them more given to pilfering, than 
the Slaves. When detected in these petty crimes, they are publicly flog- 
ged, with severity, in proportion to the offence, with the cat-o'-nine tails, 
which is more dreaded than the whip used to punish negroes. 

They are much employed in sawing timber, which they perform at the 
rate of 40 dollars per 1000 feet. When hired by the day their wages are 
6s. currency (2.?. Sd. sterling), without provisions. When engaged by the 



167 



job in agricultural labour, they charge for cutting canes, viz.— Plant 
canes, from 60 to 80 dollars per quarry (3 l-5th acres) ; Ratoon canes, 
40 dollars ditto. For clearing land, they charge, per quarry, 40 dollars ; 
for preparing and planting it, from 120 to 140 dollars ; and for weeding 
canes, from 20 to 30 dollars, for the same quantity ; making a charge 
(without including manuring the land, where that may be found neces- 
sary) of 180 to 210 dollars per qftdrrf {£\^ ...3 per acre) to the first 
weeding inclusive." 

When we reflect that canes in the old Colo- 
nies require to be weeded three, four, and even 
six times, according to the richness or the poverty 
of the soil or the age of the cane, the total 
charge of cultivation by free labour till cutting 
down the cane,, independent of all the labour 
and expense in carrying, grinding, boiling,, and 
shipping the Sugar, will, at the above rate, 
amount to 86 dollars, which with the exchange 
at 230 is £16. .B.. 6 sterling, an expense of it- 
self, which it is almost unnecessary to state, no 
Sugar cultivation can bear. The produce of an 
acre, good and bad, is probably at an average 
not above 16 cwt. In new Colonies,, and new 
lands, where canes require fewer weedings, the 
cost would be two or three pounds per acre less, 
but then this would give these Colonies a decided 
superiority over the old Colonies, where the lands 
are poorer ; and though the gangs of Slaves are 
in these, numerically stronger, they are of a less 
effective strength. This superiority would anni- 
hilate the cultivation of Sugar in these Colonies, 



168 



and throw it altogether into the rich soil, and 
level plains of Guiana, or a few fine sea-side 
estates, in our old Colonial possessions. The 
cultivation, by free labour is therefore, a chimera, 
unless the free labourers, in the West were 
reduced to labour for the wretched pittance of 
2d. per day, as in the East Indies ; and two dol- 
lars per month, as in Java ; when the supe- 
riority of the West India capital, machinery, 
and knowledge, might come into competition 
with these places. 

Such is the K industry and good conduct" of 
the free negroes in Trinidad, alluded to by Mr. 
Clarkson, and such the enormous expense and 
uncertainty of their labour, according to accounts 
obtained from the lips of one living in the midst 
of them, and who had occasion to employ them. 

But this is not the first time that a trial of free 
labour has been unsuccessfully made in Trini- 
dad. Soon after its capture, government were 
induced to bring, at a great expense, a colony 
of Chinese to settle there. They did nothing. 
They became a nuisance to the Colony, they 
were gamblers, swindlers, every thing that was 
bad. When in a few instances, they essayed 
field labour, they went forth to it with a servant 
holding an umbrella over their heads, to pro- 
tect them from the sun ! Many of them returned 



169 



to Macao, and as government was hound to 
defray all their expenses if they did not like the 
place, the expense of each individual to the state 
was above £200. Very few of these people now 
remain in Trinidad. The few that are there, are 
butchers, and sellers of fish, but so indolent that 
they buy the fish from the fishermen, and retail 
them out to the consumer. Why did Mr. Clark- 
son forget this free colony? He knows who 
originated the measure. 

Before proceeding to Mr. Clarkson's St. Do- 
mingo case, it may be advisable here to notice 
another instance of advantageous, safe, and ef- 
ficacious, manumission and free labour, brought 
forward by the violent, and intemperate author, 
of u the Substance of the Debate in the House of 
Commons, on Mr. Buxton's Motion" in May last. 
This is the enfranchisement of twenty-five 
negroes, in Tortola, by Samuel Nottingham, a 
Quaker, their master, in 1776. 

The author of the article in question, states that their number is now 
43 ; that they live " upon the same plantation," which is chiefly " culti- 
vated in provisions" having been compelled to " abandon the cultivation 
of cotton on account of the price falling very low. Not one of them is 
in debt, and their property is free from all incumbrance. During the 
whole period since their emancipation, none of them have been sued in 
any court, or brought before a magistrate to answer any complaint. 
They are all black, having intermarried with each other. Only one of 
them once obtained a warrant against a person who had assaulted him, 
who begged his pardon, and was forgiven. One of them, JefFrey Not- 



170 



tingham, besides his share in the plantation and stock, possesses five acre§ 
of land, a house in Spanish-town and a vessel of twenty-three feet keel. 
Jeffrey's wife acts as school-mistress. She reads well. They attend the 
Methodist chapel at East End *." 

This narrative, we are informed, is made up 
upon the authority of " tivo respectable gentle- 
men ivko visited them in 1822." Who these 
gentlemen are is not stated, but I believe they 
are the two commissioners sent out by govern- 
ment ; the one it is said chosen by government, 
the other recommended by some member or di- 
rector of the African Institution; to examine 
into, and report upon the state of the captured 
African negroes apprenticed in Tortola. One of 
these gentlemen, I without hesitation assert, never 
made any such statement, as the African Insti- 
tution has published; and with regard to the 
assertion that one of these negroes was arrested 
upon his return from a voyage for " a capitation 
tax? that cannot be true, because there is no 
capitation tax in Tortola on free persons. 

" Three respectable gentlemen" one a resi- 
dent of Tortola, the others well, and officially, 
acquainted with the facts of the case, read lately 
in this country, the preceding statements, with 
expressions of wonder and astonishment, at a 
narrative and colouring so different from what 

* Substance of the Debate in the House of Commons, &c. May 15, 1823, 
pages 234 , 236, & 237. 



171 



their own eyes and experience had taught them 
was the fact. 

" Not only is the whole statement egregiously incorrect," says one of 
my informants, but he added, " I may say the circumstances of these 
people, are the very reverse of what is reported. Instead of living- 
together upon the plantation in the manner stated, the males ramble 
here and there, every where forming transitory connexions among 
and with the female Slaves, upon the neighbouring estates. Upon these 
females, with other precarious means, they are altogether dependent for 
sustenance. Most of the males have female Slaves for their wives, and 
consequently their children, when they have any, are born Slaves. They 
do not cultivate their own land or any other in exportable Co- 
lonial produce. They possess little stock of any sort. They may, 
indeed, be pretty clear of debt, as I am sure no one would be silly 
enough to credit them to the smallest amount. In short they are 
an intolerable nuisance to people of all ranks, wherever they take 
up their abode, which seldom is long in one place. I remember, a 
few years since, seeing one of them in the court-house attending a pro- 
secution of his against a gentleman of the neighbourhood, for an assault 
and battery on his own person. The gentleman having found him in the 
VERY ACT of committing some depredation on his property, was from the 
fellow's unbounded insolence, provoked to lay his whip, which he hap- 
pened to have in his hand at the time, over him. In the course of the 
trial, when the defendant's counsel commenced his defence, he requested 
the plaintiff to come immediately opposite to him, for the purpose of cross 
examining him, when to his astonishment, and the astonishment of the 
whole court, the counsel found, adorning the shirt collar of the plain- 
tiff, a gold sleeve button of his own, which he immediately claimed, shew- 
ing the court the fellow to it. The button had been stolen some time 
previous, by a female Slave belonging to the counsel, and wife to the 
plaintiff*." &c. 

" The principal increase amongst these people," says another infoi-mant, 
" proceeds from a connexion with Slaves and free people unconnected 
with the Nottingham family. Grace, the wife of Jeffrey, is an enfran- 

* Thus far my first correspondent. He has returned to Tortola, and 
means to investigate most particularly, the past history of these people. 
(Letter, Nov. 24, 1823.) 



172 



chised female, formerly belonging to Mrs. Frett. Such is their fow 
and mean condition that there are only two decent houses on the esta- 
blishment of Longlook, the one built by Jasper Rapsot, a freeman and 
a shipwright, who lives with Eve Nottingham ; and the other built by 
Jeffrey, a Slave, belonging to Mt.Pickerixg, a neighbouring proprietor, 
and which Slave Jeffrey lived with Diana Nottingham. The ground 
belonging to this woman was partly cultivated by Mr. Pickering's Slaves, 
hired by their fellow Slave Jeffrey to do so during their time when not 
engaged in labour for their master. The greater part of the females liber- 
ated by Mr. Nottingham died without issue. Most of th$ males connected 
themselves with female Slaves, and were consequently relieved from the 
trouble of providing for, and supporting their children." 

" Besides their liberty and the land, Mr. Nottingham's negroes were left 
a legacy of ±31 6 .. 16s. sterling by his sister, and which was paid to thenrby 
Dr. Dawson of Tortola. Not a fourth part of the property left to them, 
and some negroes also manumitted by Mr. Perceval, and Mrs. Vanterpool, 
and Mrs. Frett, remains in their hands. They do not raise one single article 
of exportable produce for the European market. They rear nothing that 
produces either taxes to the Colony or revenue to the Mother Country. 
By the labour of Slaves belonging to the neigbouring plantations they col- 
lect some means of barter, such as a little fire-wood, and perhaps some 
country provisions, which they carry to the Danish island of St. Thomas, 
to market, and bring back from thence in exchange the coarsest Ameri- 
can productions and imports, such as a few boards and shingles, salt-fish, 
and similar articles, not one of which is the production of the soil, skill, 
or manufacture of Great Britain." 

To these tilings which they bring back in 
exchange for their rude productions i would 
call the attention of the commercial interests, 
the manufacturers, and the Ministers of Great 
Britain. They bring back then, and they use 
the coarse produce and manufactures of the 
United States, which suit their contracted ideas 
and circumstances, and which they prefer to 



173 



British, probably from the readiness with which 
these goods are exchanged for their rude pro- 
ductions. Thus would emancipated West In- 
dian Slaves supply themselves with the few 
necessaries they require, and from the produc- 
tions of a rival power in trade and commerce. 

With regard to the African negroes, 534 in 
number, emancipated and apprenticed in Tor- 
tola by Act of Parliament, suffice it to say, that 
the expiration of their indentures being at hand, 
a petition has been transmitted from Tortola 
to the King in Council # , imploring his Majesty 
to remove these negroes from the Colony, be- 
cause they cannot support themselves, and the 
Colony is unable to do it. They form a distinct 
class of society, having never amalgamated with 
either the free or the Slave population. The 
latter class they despise, and that class in return 
look upon these emancipated Africans with 
jealousy, hatred, and contempt. As a proof 
that manumitted Slaves will not labour, or hire 
themselves for agricultural labour, the petition 
from Tortola states that of seventy-six adults 
manumitted since the first registry in 1818, not 
one is exclusively engaged in agriculture, and 
but a few are partial cultivators. To seventy- 
three manumitted at different times, more than 

* Petition, dated 5th March, 1823. 



174 

300 acres of good land were given, yet only two 
or three of that number subsist on the produce 
of the soil, and two or three more are partial 
cultivators. Not a single instance has occurred 
of any individual from either class having hired 
themselves as field labourers. And unless they 
betake themselves to cultivate produce for ex- 
portation as ihe number of manumitted negroes 
increases, they must cease to obtain a profitable 
market for the provisions they raise, from the 
impoverished state and decreased number of 
people in the Colony. 

This picture, which I believe is the correct 
one, because the veracity of my correspondents 
is undoubted, and because it corresponds with 
what I witnessed myself in other places, pre- 
sents a very different aspect of affairs from that 
put forward by the African Institution. 

The writers for that body seldom think, or 
they would not be led into such gross and pal- 
pable contradictions. From this account we 
learn the truth, in the face of their nume- 
rous assertions and libels, namely, that ne- 
groes are and may be emancipated without 
difficulty, and remain free, protected, and 
not liable to be sold as Slaves though black. 
We learn also a more important fact, namely, 
that free labourers in Tortola, with the land 



175 



and houses, and moveable property in cash, 
given to them as a present, have been and are 
beaten out of the home market in the cheapest 
of all cultivation, cotton, by the same article 
produced by Slave labour in the United States, 
and even in the very Colony of Tortola, where 
cotton is cultivated by Slaves # . They, these 
enfranchised negroes, unencumbered, unembar- 
rassed, and paying no Colonial taxes, were 
compelled to discontinue the cultivation of cot- 
ton, from " THE PRICE FALLING VERY LOW." This 

admission — this fact speaks volumes. 

Considering all these cases, brought forward 
by the and- Colonists, those of the public who 
may see them in the most favourable and san- 
guine point of view, will adopt Mr. Clarkson's 
sentiments and say — " they can give us nothing 
like a positive assurance that the negroe Slaves 
in our Colonies would pass through the ordeal of 
emancipation without danger to their masters or 
the community at large." Certainly not. u Nor 
if these instances had been far more numerous 
than they are, could they, in this world of acci- 
dents, have given us a moral certainty of this -J-." 

* Here we have an answer to Hodgson's pamphlet on the comparative 
cheapness of free and Slave lahour. For it is of little consequence which 
is cheapest, if free negroes will not work in the West India agriculture 
for such terms, and from such inducements, as the value of Colonial 
productions can afford to give. 

f Clarkson's " Thoughts " page 18. 



CHAPTER VII. 



St. Domingo — adduced by Mr. Clarkson as a proof of 
the blessings and advantages of negrve emancipation 
— his accounts relative to it in every point at vari- 
ance with historical facts. — True account of the 
rise and progress of the insurrection in it. — Horrid 
cruelties. — Island totally ruined. — British expedi- 
tion there in 1795. — Forced to abandon it. — Its 
former state and trade. — Its present state and 
trade, from official and authentic documents. — 
Striking contrast.. .Miserable state of the country 
compared to what it formerly was. — Immoral and 
debased and degraded state of its population. — 
Sinking fast into their original barbarism. — Pro- 
ductive industry on the lowest scale, fyc. &c 176 

Mr. Clarkson as a "fifth Case" turns to St. 
Domingo, where lie asserts that great bodies of 
negroes were emancipated suddenly, without 
danger, and with the happiest effect. It is diffi- 
cult to compress within moderate bounds Mr. 
Clarkson's statements on this head, in which 
historical facts are withheld, and more dis- 
torted and violated than ever was in any previ- 
ous case attempted by human ingenuity. That 



177 



I may not be accused of mis-statement, I shall 
endeavour to condense in a note the points 
brought forward by Mr. Clarkson as requiring 
and being most deserving of notice *. To these 
the reader is referred for a view of Mr. Clark- 
son's assertions and hardy averments. 

* After noticing the ambiguous decree of the French Assembly, 1790, 
relative to the rights of the free coloured people in St. Domingo, Mr. 
Clarkson proceeds to state that it occasioned animosities between them 
and the whites — " disturbances took place and blood was shed." On the 
15th May 1791, the French Legislative Assembly, in consequence of a 
petition from the free people of colour, decreed that "the people of colour 
in all the French islands were entitled to the rights of citizenship, provided 
they were born of free parents on both sides." This decree irritated the 
whites. " Both parties armed against each other — horrible massacres 
and conflagrations followed in consequence of which " the Assembly 
rescinded the decree in the same year." This news reaching St. Domingo 
in 1792, enraged the people of colour, which the Assembly learning, and 
perceiving no end to these troubles, and resolving " to do justice, what- 
ever the consequences might be," sent two commissioners, Santhonax and 
Polverel, to St. Domingo. This state (" of bad blood") continuing after 
their arrival, at last broke out into open war on the 20th June 1793. — 
" The seamen left the ships in the roads and came on shore, and made a 
common cause with the white inhabitants of the town." They were op- 
posed " by the mulattoes and other people of colour, and these were 
afterwards joined by some insui-gent blacks. The battle lasted two days 
— thousands were killed in the streets — half the town was burnt. Only 
1000 troops remained in the place. The Commissioners determined to 
call in the insurgent Slaves in the neighbourhood to their assistance. 
They issued a proclamation by which they promised to give freedom to 
all blacks who were willing to range themselves under the banners of the 
Republic. This was the first proclamation made by public authority for 
emancipating the Slaves in St. Domingo. It is called the proclamation 
of Santhonax. The result of it was, that a considerable number of 
Slaves concerned were enfranchised." (p. 20, 21.) 

" Polverel left his colleague at the Cape and went to Port au Prince-?- 

N 



178 



In substance Mr. Clarkson's statements a= 
mount to this, namely, that the quarrels be- 
tween the French royalists and republicans — the 

there the negroes had become acquainted with what had taken place in 
the North, and not only with the riots at the Cape, but the proclama- 
tion of Santhonax." He saw the necessity of extending the proclamation 
to the whole island. Accordingly, " in September, 1793, he drew up a 
proclamation without further delay to that effect. All the Planters ex- 
cept one gave in their signatures, and in the month of February 1794, 
the French Convention passed a decree for the abolition of Slavery 
throughout the whole of the French Colonies. This decree put therefore 
the finishing stroke to the whole. It completed the emancipation of the 
whole Slave population of St. Domingo." (page 21, 22.) 

" Of those who were emancipated by Santhonax in the North, I do not 
find, in the various histories I have seen, any thing particular to com- 
municate. We are enabled to give a very pleasing account of those 
emancipated by Polverel in the South and the West. The negroes, says 
Malenfant, remained quiet, both in the South and the West, and they 
continued to work upon all the plantations. There were estates indeed, 
which had neither owners nor managers resident upon them," be- 
cause they " had fled to the quarter which had just been given up to 
the English. On those estates, the negroes betook themselves to plant- 
ing provisions ; but on all the plantations where the whites resided, the 
blacks continued to labour as quietly as before ; and not only so, but 
there was a spirit of industry among them, and they gave no uneasiness 
to their employers." (page 22, 23.) 

Such was the conduct of the negroes up to the middle of 1794. " Du- 
ring the year 1795 and part of 1796, I can learn nothing about 
them, though I have ransacked the French historians for this purpose." 
Lest his readers should mistake dates, and blame the emancipated ne- 
groes, be it remembered, says Mr. Clarkson, that " the great massacres 
and conflagrations, which at that time made so frightful a picture in the 
history of this unhappy island, occurred in the days of Slavery, before 
the proclamations of Santhonax and Polverel, and before the great con- 
ventional decree of the mother country was known. They had been 
occasioned too, not originally by the Slaves themselves, but by 
quarrels between the white and coloured planters, and between the royal- 



179 



whites and the mulattoes, was the sole cause of 
the miseries of St. Domingo — that the negroes 
did not emancipate themselves, but were eman- 

ists and revolutionists, who, for the purpose of wreaking their vengeance 
upon each other, called in the aid of the Slaves ; and as to the 
insurgent negroes of the North, in particular, who filled that part of 
the Colony in those years with, terror and dismay, they were origin- 
ally put in motion, says Malenfant, by the royalists themselves, to 
strengthen their own cause, and to put down the partizans of the French 
revolution. When Jean Francois and Beasson commenced the insurrec- 
tion, there were many white royalists with them, and the negroes were 
made to wear the white cockade. I repeat then, that during the years 
1795 and 1796, I can find nothing in the history of St. Domingo, where- 
with to reproach the emancipated negroes in the way of outrage." (p. 23.) 

" From the latter end of 1796 to 1802," says Malenfant, " the Colony 
was flourishing under Toussaint. The whites lived happily and in peace 
upon their estates, and the negroes continued to work for them." La- 
croix says, when Santhonax returned to the Colony in 1796, " he was 
astonished at the state he found it in on his return ;" and says the same 
author, " the Colony in 1797, marched as by enchantment towards its 
ancient splendour ; cultivation prospered ; every day produced percepti- 
ble proofs of its progress. The city of the Cape and the plantations of the 
North rose up visibly again to the eye." Even Mr. Clarkson is staggered 
at this, and with much simplicity adds, " many other circumstances 
than the mere emancipation of the Slaves in St. Domingo, may have con- 
tributed to its growth; but I maintain, that unless, the negroes who 
were then free, had done their part as labourers, bo$i by working re- 
gularly and industriously, and by obeying the directions of their super- 
intendants or masters; the Colony could never have prospered, as 
relates to cultivation, in the manner described." (page 24, 25.) 

Speaking of the invasion of St. Domingo, under Bonaparte, in 1802, 
Mr. Clarkson says, " a scene of blood and torture followed, such as his- 
tory had seldom or ever disclosed, aud compared to which, though plan- 
ned and executed by whites, all the barbarities said to have been perpe- 
trated by the insurgent blacks of the North amount comparatively to 
nothing. The French troops were not the authors of tearing to pieces 
the negroes by bloodhounds, or drowning them, by scuttling and sinking 

N 2 



ISO 



eipated " at once and in a single day/' by order 
of the French Government, and without danger 
or disturbance, for they continued to labour 
upon the properties on which the proprietors 
* lived peaceably, without interruption or dis- 
turbance/' till the invasion by the French in 1802, 
under Leclerc, the brother-in-law of Buonaparte, 
— " till that time the Planters had retained their 
property, and then it was, but not till then, they 
lost their all." p. 24, 26. 

Mr. Clarkson' s principal authority in these 
statements is, " Colonel Malenfant" But he 
has not told us, who Colonel Malenfant is. 
It is, however, of great importance to know this. 
Well then, Colonel Malenfant was one of the 
creatures — spies of the infamous and notorious 
Victor Hugues, one of the most savage of the 
worshippers of the Goddess of Reason, and who 

the vessels — but the planters." Mr. Clarkson must know, that it was 
the French troops and the French troops alone who perpetrated these 
horrors — there were no French planters there to do or advise it. " By 
the decree of Polverel, sanctioned afterwards by the convention, the 
Slaves were made free at once, or in a single day, Two years before 
this liberation, the island was a prey to political discord, civil war, and 
foreign invasion. The English at the same time, were masters of the 
strong maritime ports, and were alarming the country by their incursions — 
the Slaves had unfortunately been taught to imbibe political animosities, 
and to take the side of their respective masters, and had been familiarized 
to scenes of violence and bloodshed." Still "the government of 
that island was French, or white, from the very infancy of emancipation, 
to the arrival of Leclerc." (page 26, 28, 29.) Thus far, Mr. Clarkson. 



181 



covered the West Indies with anarchy, ashes, 
and blood. Sent to Surinam to kindle up in- 
surrection, Colonel Malenfant was detected, his 
life forfeited ; but aware, that if he was put to 
death, other emissaries would be sent in his 
place, the governor bribed him to make a report 
to Victor Hugues, that insurrection was imprac- 
ticable in that colony ; which bribe he accepted, 
and was let go. Such was Colonel Malenfant, 
and such Mr. Clarkson's authority. 

Without a single exception, all the particu- 
lars of the narrative regarding St. Domingo, as 
stated by Mr. Clarkson, are at variance with his- 
tory, the history of our own times. To violate 
truth, merely for the purpose of concealing the 
atrocities of Slaves, and the consequences of the 
proceedings of rash innovators, in order to throw 
odium upon the whites, their masters (for such 
only can be the object in view), is not more 
scandalous than reprehensible. When he states 
that the royalists called in the aid of the Slaves, 
in 1791, to put down the French revolutionists, 
he states what is directly at variance with the 
fact. 

The French revolution which, with its infa- 
mous principles, convulsed the world, and boasted 
to have been built upon the very foundation on 
which Mr. Clarkson grounds his charges against 



182 



our West India Colonies; namely, " nature 
and reason? (p. 56) was felt as might have 
been anticipated, with the most terrific conse- 
quences in St. Domingo. The ami des noirs 
had their agents dispersed in the Colonies to 
counteract every thing that the Colonial govern- 
ments or the government of the mother country 
might do or attempt, with a view to restore 
tranquillity or to preserve it. The latter in all 
their acts were agitated and distracted, by a set 
of speculative atheists, who eagerly sought to 
plunge their country, and the human race, into 
the horrors of anarchy and bloodshed. 

In 1790, the mulattoes under Oge, rose in 
arms to obtain an equality of rights with the 
whites. They were defeated. They were sub- 
dued. On the 15th May, 1791, the French 
assembly decreed the equality of rights to the 
free people of colour. The whites refused to 
accede to the decree. The mulattoes remon- 
strated, but in vain. In this state both were 
assailed by a new and remorseless foe. On the 
fatal 23rd of August, a general revolt took 
place amongst the Slaves, but so far were 
the mulattoes from joining them, that they 
placed their children as hostages in the hands of 
the white authorities, and marched with the 
white troops against the common enemy. The 



183 



work of destruction proceeded with swift steps-. 
Massacre, flames, and violence, spread over the 
fine plains of the Cape. In one week, a space 
of 35 miles of country, cultivated like a garden, 
was reduced to a wilderness covered with ashes, 
carcases, and blood. Wherever the whites were 
found, they were put to death amidst the most 
excruciating tortures. The women were ravished 
by troops of barbarians, and afterwards slain, or 
reserved for a repetition of their horrid degra- 
dation. Scenes of horror and cruelty followed, 
which it is utterly impossible to describe. Mr. 
Clarkson says, the insurgents fought under the 
" white flag? The first ensign, which the few 
troops sent out upon the first alarm, to Mr. Galli- 
fet's estate, about five miles from the capital, 
saw, was " the body of a white infant impaled 
alive upon a stake? and borne by the negroes as 
their " standard? Why does Mr. Clarkson, 
like the Edinburgh Review, suppress this horrid 
circumstance ? A few white men, indeed, joined 
and were found in the ranks of the rebels, but 
not " many," nor * royalists/' as Mr. Clarkson 
asserts. One of these, and the chief cause of 
the revolt, was a monk, named Pere Philemon, 
rector of Limbe, who caused the white prisoners 
to suffer the most excruciating torments in the 
rebel camp. He was a scholar of the club ami 



184 



des noirs, — the Missionary of St. Domingo. He 
was afterwards taken prisoner, and met the fate 
he richly deserved, for the horrors he had occa- 
sioned, and cruelties he had committed *. 

* A few of the horrors committed in St. Domingo may be here no- 
ticed, as a warning to those who have colonies peopled by African Slaves. 

The wife and three daughters of M. Faville while imploring mercy for 
him, saw the husband and father, cut to pieces before their eyes by the 
savages. Carried away captives, they were reserved for a more horrid fate. 

On the estate of M. Gallifet, the negroes, had been treated kindly to 
a proverb. When the revolt began, M. Odeluc, the attorney, thinking 
they would remain faithful, went out to the plantation with a friend, and 
some soldiers. He found them in open rebellion, and their standard was 
the body of a white infant, which they had recently impaled on a stake *. 
Himself, friend, and most of the soldiers were murdered without mercy, 
a few only of the patrole escaping, to tell the dreadful tale. 

Mr. Blen, an officer of police, was nailed alive, to one of the gates of 
his plantation, and his limbs, one by one, chopped off with an axe. 

A poor man named Robert, a carpenter, was dragged from his hiding 
place, and that " he might die in the way of his occupation" the savages 
deliberately sawed him asunder. 

M. Cardinneau, a planter of Grand Riviere, offered two of his own 
mulatto children money, to remain faithful. They took the money and 
then stabbed their parent to the heart. 

In the parish of Limbe, at a place called Great Ravine, a venerable 
planter, who had two beautiful daughters, while he was tied down, saw 
his eldest daughter ravished before his eyes by one barbarian, and his 
youngest delivered over to another, to be subjected to the same fate. 

Near Jeremie, a body of mulattoes secured M. Sejourne and his wife, 
in their own house. The monsters murdered the husband before the 
eyes of his wife. She was far advanced in pregnancy. They ripped her 
up alive, and threw the infant to the hogs . They then (how shall I relate 
it ?) sewed up the head of the murdered husband in • ! ! ! 

At 

* The Edinburgh Review with that cool malignity, which characterises 
it against the white colonists, conceals this dreadful tale, and excuses 
the murderer of M. Odeluc, by a direct falsehood, namely, that he treated 
the Slaves with great cruelty. 



185 



Though the town was preserved, the country 
was laid waste. The energy and intelligence 
of a few Europeans, however, after terrible 
struggles, were fast overpowering the ferocity 
and ignorance of savages, when another act 
of the unsteady government of France re- 
kindled the flame fiercer than before. They 
rescinded, on the 24th September, 1791, the 
decree granting equality of rights to the co- 
loured people. This fatal measure soon reached 
St. Domingo. The mulattoes separated them- 
selves from the whites and joined the negroes, 
and commenced a scene of similar horrors on the 
plains to the East of the Cape which had been 
perpetrated around it. One Jeannet was pro- 
claimed chief, and by his orders General Paul 
Belin, who was suspected by him, was hewed 
to pieces and his remains cast into the fire. 
The finest parts of St. Domingo were soon and 

At another place, a favourite negro murdered his master Stretched 
on the dead body of her husband, the villain's mistress, was afterwards 
subjected to the assassin's lust. 

All the white and mulatto children, whose fathers had not joined the 
revolt, were murdered without exception, before the eyes, or clinging to 
the bosoms of their mothers. Young women of all ranks were first vio- 
lated by a troop of barbarians, and frequently afterwards put to death. 
Some of them were reserved for the further gratification of the lust of 
the savages, and others had their eyes scooped out with a knife. 

Monsters such as these, deserved no mercy, and found none. When 
taken, they were put to death amidst tortures the most excruciating that 
could be devised. (Speech Deputies, 3rd Nov. 1791, to French Assembly.) 



186 



completely reduced to the state of a wilderness 
covered with misery, want, and despair. Al- 
ternately defeated and victorious, yet gaining 
fresh strength, the revolted negroes returned to 
the charge. Scanty supplies and reinforcements 
arrived from France, and the bloody struggle 
and work of destruction was continued during 
the year 1792. 

Brissot, in 1792, procured the re-enactment 
of the decree granting equal rights to the Mu- 
lattoes, and Santhonax, Polverel, and Allhaud 
were sent as commissioners to heal the discord 
in St. Domingo. Secret instructions from the 
friends of the blacks in Paris, and their own 
avarice, ambition, and ignorance, rendered bad 
worse. 

When Santhonax and Polverel arrived in St. Do- 
mingo, they found the whites and mulattoes recon- 
ciled, and the insurgent negroes in a great mea- 
sure subdued and returned to their work. Those 
republican fanatics, however, quickly sowed dis- 
cord between the whites and mulattoes again, and 
the consequences were fresh tumults and extended 
revolt amongst the Slaves # . These, however, 
were again, in a great measure, got over. On the 
12th and 13th January, 1793, their chief fort, and 



* St. Domingo, October 26th, 1792. 



187 



all their lesser forts and cannon were taken, and 
peace seemed upon the point of being restored. * 
Santhonax, however, by his conduct blasted the 
fair prospect. Encouraged by him, the mulat- 
toes and negroes, on the 17th and 18th June, 
1793, attacked, wounded, abused, and insulted 
the whites, who had given them no provocation, 
and who applied in vain to the commissioners 
for protection and redress. A terrible catas- 
trophe was thus precipitated. The fleet and 
shipping took part with the white inhabi- 
tants. The mulattoes were fired upon as they 
approached the house of government to solicit 
redress. On the 20th, a frightful contest ensued, 
which continued till dark. The commissioners 
headed the mulattoes and the negroes, and hav- 
ing the worst of it, they then had recourse to 
their secret instructions, and proclaimed, June 
23rd, the emancipation of all the Slaves in the 
Colony, upon the condition of their joining 
them. From every quarter the Slaves rushed 
into Cape Francois, the capital. A general 
massacre of the whites, men, women, and chil- 
dren ensued. The whites defended themselves 
with the courage of despair. They were or- 
dered not to leave their houses. Where they 

* St. Domingo, January 23rd, 1793. 



188 



did not, the negroes entered and butchered 
them in cold blood. Horror and carnage were 
general. The town was set on fire in various 
places, and almost consumed. The shipping 
fled, and bore with it about 2500 miserable 
wretches — whites, who had the good fortune to 
escape with the loss of their all*. Several 
escaped to Jamaica with a few of their most 
faithful Slaves, where they settled and com- 
menced cultivating coffee. Terror and con- 
fusion reigned over St. Domingo, and negro 
supremacy was from that moment established, 
and by the frantic conduct of the convention, 
extended to all their Colonies, and attempted, 
with too much success, to be introduced into 
the Colonies of Great Britain. During 1795 
and 1796, Grenada, St. Vincents, and St. Lucia 
were desolated by negro revolt and the prin- 
ciples of liberty and equality. 

In every point the truth is the reverse of what 
Mr. Clarkson has thought proper to state. The 
cruelties committed by the monster Santhonax, 
who seems to be a particular favourite with Mr. 
Clarkson, were incredible. In one house 300 
persons were shut up, and burnt by the negroes, 
and the party attached to this inhuman com- 



* St. Domingo, June 24th, 1793. 



189 



missioner*. " The cruelty of Santhonax and 
Polverel," said Verneuil, " was horrible. The 
wife of La Coste, to escape their barbarity, 
after seeing her husband murdered, threw her 
eldest child into the sea, and seizing the other, 
plunged with it into the water, and was drownedf." 

Revolution, anarchy, and slaughter, reigned 
triumphant in St. Domingo. So dreadful were 
the scenes of carnage, that Bourdon, le Oise de- 
clared, in the Council of 500, November 10th, 
1796, that of 450,000 negroes which were in St. 
Domingo in 1792, only 130,000 remained; of 
25,000 people of colour, only 15,000 remained, 
and of 40,000 whites, only 20,000 were left 
alive in 1795. Santhonax and Polverel, on 
their own account, plundered 200 millions of 
livresi. While the loss of property to indi- 
viduals, bereft of their all, exceeded, at the 
lowest calculation, ^100,000,000 sterling. 

In 1795, the British were induced, by the re- 
presentations of some French Colonial emi- 
grants, to invade St. Domingo. With a con- 
siderable force they obtained possession of the 
sea-ports and drove back the negroes and re- 
publican troops to the interior. The climate, 

* Convention, October 14th, 1793. 
t Ibid. August 22nd, 1794. % Ibid. August 22nd, 1794. 



190 



however, and the harassing nature of the war- 
fare soon made terrible ravages among them, 
and, finding that the negroes were not to be re- 
duced to subjection, they, after great loss and 
expense, finally abandoned the island in 1798. 
At the same time the wretched remains of the 
French white population abandoned a country 
overwhelmed with desolation, retired to Cuba, 
from whence the Spaniards drove them away, 
and finally, several thousands of them settled in 
the United States, and principally in New Or- 
leans, in the most wretched state of misery and 
poverty that could possibly be imagined; as 
gentlemen have informed me who helped to re- 
lieve them. 

Under the dominion of the British, cultiva- 
tion again began to rear its head in St. Do- 
mingo ; but at their departure, notwithstanding 
all the talent and despotic power of Toussaint, 
the wisest and best head that St. Domingo has 
had, since revolutionized, it quickly decayed; 
and from that time to this it has been nearly 
abandoned. It is in this part of his subject that 
Mr. Clarkson's disingenuity and misrepresenta- 
tion are so conspicuously displayed. He ought 
certainly to have known these facts — but, he af- 
fects to say, that during 1795 and 1796, he could 
find nothing in French historians concerning the 



191 



emancipated negroes in St. Domingo *. No ! but 
he could., if hehadchosen.,have found plenty about 
them in British historians — in the London Gazette 

* Mr. Clarkson throws a veil over St. Domingo in 1795 and 1796, and 
1797, which I shall endeavour shortly to draw aside. The negroes, he 
says, continued, he presumes, to work as quietly as before, while Santho- 
nax, and others, were astonished, upon their return to the colony, at the 
flourishing state in which they found it. Mr. Clarkson omits to state 
that the districts of Grandbois, and Mirahelais, had been conquered and 
preserved by the British ; and that into these flourishing districts, containing 
490 plantations, and 12,000 negroes, the rash decrees and authority of 
the commissioners, had never been acknowledged or obeyed*. Here 
cultivation flourished. 

How quiet and settled the negroes were in the years alluded to, may 
be shewn from the official proclamations, both of our own, and of the 
French government, and their respective authorities. In the proclamation 
of Admiral Parker, in the name of the late king, December 10, 1795, the 
latter speaks only of " the excess and universality of the calamities" 
which had overspread St. Domingo, and adds, that it was the duty and 
" he owed it to the glory of his arms, to complete" the subjugation by force, 
— he owes it to public morals, to annihilate a system destructive of all the 
social bonds which unite the colonists among themselves, and which unite 
the whole to one sovereign," and at the same time "to extend his succour- 
ing hand to a multitude of worthy men, who groan in every part of the 
island, and invoke his protection f." 

Santhonax soon after his arrival, issued a proclamation, to bring the 
emancipated negroes into something like social order. He called upon 
them to devote themselves to industry, and agriculture and " to renounce 
that state of vagrancy which the laws of the republic would punish +" 
On the 21st March preceding, Toussaint informed Adet, the French 
minister in the United States, that he had with some difficulty, put down 
the mulattoes, who had rebelled, attacked and ill-treated the inhabitants, 
and endeavoured to seize the reins of government, and on the 14th May, 

* Port au Prince, Sept. 5 & 11, 1795. 
t Proclamation Cape Nichola Mole. 
% Ibid. May 15, 1796. 



192 



for instance ; and when he affects to "show us, 
upon the authority of Lacroix, the renovated 
state of St. Domingo around the Cape, in 1797, 

1796, the commissioners themselves, wrote to the Directory, that St. Do- 
mingo abounded " with projects of ambition, disorder, and pretensions, 
&c." 

When the Spanish part of St. Domingo was attempted to be seized 
on the part of the French Republic, the inhabitants solicited and ob- 
tained protection from the British to avert such a fearful calamity. 
What kind of men and what kind of principles these commissioners pro- 
mulgated, the proclamation by General Forbes, 12th July, 1796, will 
clearly point out to us. Addressing himself to the Spanish part of the 
Colony, he says, " 1 have perused the proclamations of these hypocriti- 
cal and perverse agents, whose first mission to St. Domingo was mark- 
ed with insurrection, with the firing of the plantations, and the assassina- 
tion of their owners, &c." 

To give a specimen of the scenes passing in the Republican part of St. 
Domingo, at this time, the following is deemed sufficient. Early in Au- 
gust, 1796, the French were defeated at Jeremie. The arrest of some 
people of colour produced a serious insurrection. General de Fur- 
neu escaped in a boat. The rage of the mulattoes was principally di- 
rected against the whites. About one hundred were massacred. Some 
were butchered in a horrid manner, and their bloody and mangled corpses 
were exultingly carried about the streets, and these scenes continued till 
the arrival of General Rigaud, put an end to the carnage*. 

The proclamation issued by Santhonax, directing and commanding the 
negroes to return to work had no effect. " They refused to return to 
their labour on the plantations as he had enjoined, in a proclamation, 
requiring those who had been formed into military corps to resume their 
work. They in answer alledged that being free men, they would only work 
when and as long as they pleased. Santhonax was consequently very much 
distressed, as he had persecuted the mulattoes with an idea that the negroes 
would remain faithful to him ; they, on the contrary had disconcerted 
all his plans, by threatening to retire into the mountains f." 

* New York, 21st October, 1796, from Captain Brown, an eye-wit- 
ness to the facts. 

t Jamaica Gazettes, August 1796 — authentic accounts from Cape 

Nichola Mole, July 22d. 1796. 



193 



he has omitted, purposely it would seem, to state 
that that cultivation and prosperity were only seen 
under British bayonets, and vanished as soon 

Mr. Clarkson states that he can meet with nothing regarding St. Do- 
mingo in French authors of 1796. The following particulars from the 
pen of citizen Dugroy, inserted in the Republican Frangais, and ad- 
dressed to the French government, October 1796, may therefore be ac- 
ceptable to him. 

Fort Dauphin, ceded by Spain in the most dreadful and distressed 
state. Cape Francois, only 50 houses remaining; Caprice commis- 
sioners, by their orders, consumed this fine city. Port Morgit, a fourth 
absolutely destroyed. Port de Paix equally ravaged. Men of colour 
recently put to death, 150 blacks of every age in this city. This side 
once the best cultivated — plantations, working-houses, magazines, and 
habitations, all laid waste. On the south, which extends from Cape Ti- 
beron, 70 leagues — here insurrection proclaimed by law — completely de- 
vastated — at this day exposed to the horrors of violent anarchy. Pro- 
prietors burn, massacre, and destroy each other — negroes closely imitate 
their example. Western part, from Cape Tiberon to St. Nicholas Mole, 
100 leagues, now held by the British — reaped this year 20,000,000 livres 
in Sugar, coffee, &c, supplied the wants of the people and extended their 
own commerce. Cannot pass from these districts without being mas- 
sacred by negroes, become savage from anarchy. These negroes, by too 
sudden a passage from bondage to liberty, have formed themselves into 
savage bands, which must remain the terror of all government. The 
agents sent out to St. Domingo, amused themselves by preaching up 
havoc and destruction. In last, Floreal they published a system of liberty 
free from the smallest controul, diverted themselves by forming muni- 
cipalities of ignorant negroes — organized a banditti — made generals of 
men known for their barbarous ferocity — armed them against the whites. 
Sovereignty of the island lodged in the hands of about a dozen barbarians. 
Whites, Europeans, or Creoles, made valets, Slaves, or victims, to people 
of colour. French women, daughters of white inhabitants, compelled to 
act as servants and Slaves to negroes, under pain of death. Others nurse 
negro infants. No trade, no labour, nothing to exchange. Air infected 
from the unburied dead. These facts cannot be denied by the butchers 
of the Colonies, who dread the moment that the nation will demand a ri- 

O 



194 



as they were withdrawn. More disingenuous 
conduct than this pursued by Mr. Clarkson I 
never met with, nor to support a fallacious and 
dangerous theory, a more unfair concealment 
and perversion of facts. 

From the death of Toussaint, and the final 
evacuation of the country by the French in 1804, 
St. Domingo has been ruled by a succession of 
tyrants, whose title has been the sword. Conti- 
nued wars took place between the mulattoes at 
Port-au-Prince, and the blacks at the Cape, 
which finally ended in the subjection of the lat- 
ter to the former, under Boyer. Cultivation 
has been attempted by them all, but with little 
success. From Toussaint downwards, the mus- 
ket and bayonet were substituted for the whip ; 
and the negro who would not work was, with- 
out ceremony, shot. Such efforts were, how- 
ever, attended with little effect; and let Mr. 
Clarkson and the African Institution say what 
they will, the population of St. Domingo re- 
main to this day savages — lazy, ignorant, rude 
— more barbarous by the change. 

Within these few years, and during the reign 
of Christophe, the master of a ship, (an old ac- 

gorous account of their conduct. The blood of the people runs in great 
floods. All means of agriculture and commerce are destroyed. The Di- 
rectory called upon to interfere, examine, and punish the guilty. 



195 

quaintance), assured me, that were lie to be 
offered his ship as a present, he would not be 
induced to return to that desolated spot. When 
there, engaged in lawful commerce, he never, as 
he stated, when he went ashore felt confident 
of returning alive, nor when he went to bed 
could he say he should see another morning; 
such was the fearful tyranny and caprice of the 
despot who bore sway, and the ferocious tribe 
that obeyed him. 

Twenty years have now elapsed since the last 
French invasion, and the deliverance of St. Do- 
mingo from all foreign attacks. In that time 
what has she done ? From the remaining old 
coffee and cocoa trees her miserable population 
collect a scanty quantity of produce which their 
despotic master takes as his own, and by his 
agents exchanges it, chiefly with the Ame- 
ricans, for such supplies as they bring, which 
supplies are again retailed out, at the prices he 
may think proper to affix to them. The culti- 
vation of Sugar in what may be called the 
emancipated part, has dwindled down to 
almost nothing; and the Sugar cultivation in 
the Spanish part, now that it is enfranchised, 
and come under the yoke of Boyer, will soon 
decay, and that quarter, like the other, become 
comparatively desolate and wild. Christophe 

o2 



made every exertion to restore Sugar cultiva- 
tion, but he failed. A certain quantity of la- 
bour was allotted to the negroes ; if they re- 
fused to work, or neglected to work, they were, 
at the outset, frequently scourged with a branch 
torn from the Gum- Arabic-thorn # — a punish- 
ment the most cruel that can be conceived. 
Subsequently the musquet was substituted, and 
the indolent negroes were shot. No one durst 
complain, or make any observations on their fate, 
All the efforts of the most cruel and relentless 
tyranny could not restore the cultivation of the 
cane in St. Domingo ; and it is an undeni- 
able fact, that the Americans find the importa- 
tion of foreign muscovado Sugar into some dis- 
tricts of St. Domingo, a necessary and profitable 
article of commerce. 

From authentic documents and official returns, 
I shall proceed to lay before my readers a state- 
ment of what was the situation of St. Domingo 
previous to the insurrection, and what it is at the 
present day, which will, I apprehend, strike even 
the most thoughtless emancipator with astonish- 
ment and alarm. In 1791, St. Domingo was 
the seat of commerce, abundance, and civiliza- 
tion. The returns of its trade, and the value of 

* The prickles are extremely long, hard, and sharp like needles, but 
so brittle that when they penetrate the flesh they break into pieces and 
cannot be extracted, and thus occasion locked jaw. The " Crown of 
Thorns" for our Saviour was, it is supposed, made of this thorn. 



197 



of the property therein,, as given in to the French 
Legislative Assembly, stood as under, viz. : — 



St. Domingo in 1791. 






lbs. 


Value in livres. 


Clayed Sugar ----- 


70,227,708 


67,670,781 


Brown do. ------ 


93,177,512 


49,941,567 


Coffee 


68,151,180 


51,890,748 


Cotton ------- 


6,286,126 


17,572,252 


Indigo - - 


930,016 


lU,875,li*Q 




150,000 


120,000 


Gayo, Ajaca et Campeche - 


1,500,000 


140,000 


Tortoise-shell ----- 


5,000 


50,000 


Casks Molasses - - - - 


29,502 


1.947,132 


Puncheons Taffia - - - - 


303 


21,816 


Tanned Hides 


5,186 


93,348 


Untanned do. - - - - - 


7,887 


78,870 


Value in livres of 6 sous - 




- 200,301,634 


Sold in France for do. do. (or nearly 1 
£8,000,000 sterling - - J 


- 193,377,468 


Droits percues in do. - - 




6,924,166 


VALUE OF PROPERTY EMPLOYED IN CULTURE. 


Estates. No. 


Value each. 


Value in livres 


Clayed Sugar - - 451 


330,000 


103,730,000 


Brown do. - - - 341 


180,000 


61,380,000 


Coffee ----- 2,810 


20,000 


56,200,000 


Indigo - - - - 3,097 


30,000 


92,910,000 


Cotton - - - - 705 


30,000 


21,150,000 


Cocoa Estates - - 69 


4,000 


275,000 


Guildiveries - - . - 173 


5,000 


865,000 


Tanneries - - - 3 


160,000 


480,000 


Foursa Chaux Bri- 






queries & Potteries 437i 


15,000 


5,510,000 


Negroes on Estates 455,000 


2,500 


1,137,500,000 


Horses and Mules - 16,000 


400 


6,400,000 


Horned Cattle - - 12,000 


120 


1,440,000 


Negroes noton Estates 46,000 


2,500 


115,000,000 


Total livres of 6 sous 




1,602,840,000 



198 



In 1788, in the European trade, it employed 580 vessels, averaging 
325£ tons each, together 189,679 tons — in the American trade, 763 ves- 
sels, 55,745 tons, or 73 tons each — in the Spanish trade, 259 vessels, 
15,41 7 tons, or 59 tons each — in the African trade, 98 vessels, which carried 
29,506 negroes, which sold at £60 sterling each. The imports from Eu- 
rope were valued at 86,414,040 livres — from the Spanish colonies, 
9,717,123 livres— and from North America, 6,821,707 livres. The ex- 
ports to the Spanish colonies, were valued at 5,587,515 livres, and to 
North America, 4,409,922 livres. The number of white inhabitants 
amounted to 30,831, the mulattoes and free people to 24,000, negroes at- 
tached to estates 455,000, and negroes not attached to estates 46,000 — 
together 501,000. 

The quantity of sugar above-mentioned, reduced into muscovado by the 
usual scale, and then into English weight, is equal to 230,570,107 lbs. 
above half the quantity that all the West India colonies, with the excep- 
tion of Cuba, now produces. 

Of the Spanish part of this valuable island the information at so late a 
period is not so correct. As far back as the beginning of last century, it 
produced 15,000 chests of 7cwt. each, all clayed, which is 105,000 cwt. 
and equal to 19,992,200 lbs. muscovado. There can be no question 
that down to the year 1791 the quantity must have been very consider- 
ably increased. 

In 1791, the insurrection broke out, and cul- 
tivation and commerce ceased. Upon the au- 
thority of Perraud, the intendant, the following 
is the quantity of the different kinds of produce 
exported from the 14th July 1794, to the month 
of September 1796, a period of twenty-seven 



months : — 

White Sugar, value in livres - - 15,790 

Brown ditto - 3,922,568 

Syrup and Tama 900 

Coffee - 5,013,569 

Cotton - - - - 170,984 

Indigo - 11,590 



Total 9,135,401 



199 



Here we have a striking proof of the fetal ef- 
fects of negro emancipation, and a direct contra- 
diction to Mr. Clarkson's averments of their good 
conduct and u continuing to labour as before." 

In 1805 the export of Coffee from St. Do- 
mingo was estimated at 30,000,000 lbs. but 
that was probably too much. At present the 
export of Coffee (the only article of produce 
it may be said to export) is certainly under 
20,000,000 lbs. St. Domingo has no merchant 
ships. Her trade is carried on by foreigners, 
and is chiefly in the hands of the Americans 
and British. The former have by far the largest 
share. The whole exports are certainly under 
^900,000 per annum, as the annexed returns and 
calculations will shew*. In the American im- 

* Port au Prince is supposed to have half the trade of the island. For 
the first six months of 1822 the following was the trade of that port. 

Dollars. Tons. 
Imports from United States - 410,292 9,935 

France - - - 136,558 1,218 

British - - - 200,192 1,196 

Germany & Holland 203,1 63 1,461 
Port au Prince, Sept. 7, 1822. 

BRITISH IMPORTS OF THE FOLLOWING ARTICLES, VIZ. 

Sugar. Coffee. 
1814 2,113 — 

18.15 30,559 — - 

1816 10,920 — 

1821 I 17 78,083 cwts. 

1822 41,632 

Par. Pap. No. 57 and.63.of session 1823 ; No. 218 of session,1822, and 
No. 490 of session 1821. 



200 



ports and exports in particular, it must be 
recollected are included the exports and im- 
ports to and from the Spanish part so lately 
annexed to the republic, and in the estimated 
value of the whole, freight and charges are 
also included. The trade of St. Domingo is 
certainly not above one sixth of what it for- 
merly was, if so much. Of the present popu- 
lation I have seen no accurate accounts. It is 
estimated by several writers but evidently 

The contrast which the trade of the United States with Cuba and Hayti 
affords, is very striking, thus : — 

Imports from Exports to 

182) Cuba - 6,584,589 Dollars 4,540,680 Dollars. 
Hayti - 2,746,257 .. 2,270,601 .. 

of which the principal articles stand as under, viz. 

flAYTI. CUBA. 

Value. Value. 

Quantity. Dollars Quantity. Dollars. 

Sugar, white lbs. - — — 20,601,672 \ Q0R Q ,, 

... brown.. - 24,241 1,631 41,361,231 / A y ^> yM 

Coffee .. - 8,394,393 1,801,150 8,570,937 

Molasses gs. - 13,024 1,694 6,190,894 

Indigo lbs. - 322 690 1,822 

Spirits gs. - 3,069 1,092 69,422 

Cocoa lbs. - 181,938 15,981 — 

National Intelligencer, January 1822, and Official Report for the year 
ending September 30th, 1822. 

The exports of Coffee from St. Domingo or Hayti will stand thus : — 

To United States, 1822 - - - - 8,394,393 lbs. 
Great Britain, 1822 - - - - 4,662,784 
Germany and Holland, suppose 6,000,000 

Total 19,057,177 

instead of 68,000,000 lbs. as in 1791— what a falling off is here! The 
imports of Hayti are also not now one fifth what these formerly were ! 



201 



from no sufficient data, at 500,000. This num- 
ber is certainly exaggerated, particularly as 
we learn that the " open country contains only 
detached cottages at great intervals." On the 
other hand the destruction by the insurrection, 
as stated upon the authority of Bourdon de 
L'Oise, is probably exaggerated, and if we take 
the population of the French part of St. Do- 
mingo from 350,000 to 400,000, we shall proba- 
bly not be far from the truth. 

Of the present state of society in St. Domingo 
the following account extracted from a recent re- 
spectable periodical publication, is I have reason 
to know, an accurate portrait. The picture of 
the old negro man of 60 with an old wife and a 
young one, and two families all naked, is truly 
African. From this account we learn that the 
" negroes have as yet made little progress in 
civilization — the interior of their huts presents 
scarcely a single article of use — no bed, nor table, 
nor even so much as a chair" — that " the cere- 
mony of marriage is but little attended to by the 
mulattoes, and by the blacks not at all;" while 
u both the Sugar and indigo plantations are 
permitted to go to ruin." 

" St. Domingo, 1822. 

• " An interesting and evidently accurate account has just appeared 
from the pen of a gentleman, of the present situation of St. Domingo, a 



202 



considerable time resident in, and recently returned from that island *. 
" In this country," says the writer, " there is to be witnessed, coun- 
tenances from the jettest black in all the gradations, until the distinction 
from a white is scarcely perceptible ; and to be found, a people speaking 
a variety of languages : fugitives from Cuba, who can speak only a kind 
of Spanish jargon; from Jamaica, whose only language is a sort of 
broken English ; emigrants from Curagoa, talking Dutch ; and the ori- 
ginal blacks and mulattoes of the island, whose language is a sort of 
broken French. There are, besides, several white people settled in Hayti, 
natives of Europe and America, but who are not permitted to interfere in 
any government matters. Previous to the revolution, those of the mu- 
lattoes who possessed Slaves treated them with far more cruelty than the 
white planters ; and from this cause, no doubt, has arisen the feeling of 
dislike on the part of the negroes to the mulattoes. The latter consider 
the negroes as their inferiors, and refrain from being on any familiar 
footing with them. The feelings of animosity that are at present ob- 
servable amongst the blacks and mulattoes will be an obstacle to Hayti 
enjoying a lasting peace. At this moment the negroes would manage 
very ill without the assistance of the others. In general the negroes have 
as yet made little progress in civilization. The consequence is, all the 
principal offices under Boyer are managed by the mulattoes, from the in- 
capacity of the blacks for such employment. It is in the army the ne- 
groes are found most useful. 

The population of the towns consists principally of mulattoes. The 
houses are in general erected of wood ; for the most part not higher than 
one story. The females have the charge of them, and not only attend to 
the sales, but almost invariably make the purchases themselves. Indeed 
so complete a cypher is the husband in their mercantile transactions, that 
his name is never mentioned in the wholesale merchants' books. I could 
never discover any ostensible employment the men had, They appeared 
to spend their time in listless indolence, consuming the greater part of 
the day in smoking segars. So intent are the Haytian fair on making 
money, that their passion for gain seems to overcome the tender feelings 
of the sex. This was strongly evinced in the conduct of a mother, who, 
being at some distance, when she heard of the dangerous .illness of .her 
daughter, she wrote, expressing her sorrow, but telling her that till she 

* Edinburgh Magazine for December 1823, p. 126 — 138 : extracted 
from the Journal of a gentleman who lately visited the island. 



203 



got her business accomplished, which would require some time, she 
could not return. 

The negroes have lost none of their savage character, which, with the 
freedom enjoyed by the Haytians, under the republican form of govern- 
ment, renders them, in every respect, most disagreeable servants. It 
is not sufficient that these fellow's wages are exorbitant. Flattery 
must likewise be made use of to get them to work. To have any 
thing to do with them requires the greatest exercise of patience possible. 
The foreign merchant, however respectable his circumstances, has to 
cringe and behave with every submission to those black vagabonds. He 
is not permitted to use any compulsory measures. If he appears at all 
out of humour, he will only be laughed at ; they delight in bringing to 
the remembrance of white people that they are no longer Slaves. 

" Many of them have coffee plantations, and, from the high price 
which that article has for some time brought in the markets of Europe 
and America, they have acquired greater riches than they know what to 
do with. Some of them were pointed out to me who were said to pos- 
sess many thousand pounds, but there appeared nothing indicative of 
such wealth. There are others of the negroes, however, who live in the 
rudest state possible. In general they have a few coffee-trees, but their 
exertions are seldom equal to produce them any comforts or luxuries. 
The interior of their huts presents scarcely a single article of use ; no bed, 
nor table , nor even so muck as a chair. In one of these miserable habi- 
tations which I entered, was seated, in one corner of the room, on a mat, 
a young female negro, about twenty years of age, with three infants ; 
and in another corner, a more elderly female, with a family more ad- 
vanced. Both were the wives and families of the proprietor of the house, 
a negro apparently about sixty. The women wore nothing on their 
bodies except a chemise, made of coarse Osnaburgh. The younger of 
the two was suckling an infant, and two round apertures were made in 
the garment, through which the full breasts projected, and were entirely 
exposed. The husband had no clothing, with the exception of a pair of 
Osnaburgh trowsers, the upper part of his body being altogether naked. 
All the younger branches of the family were in a state of entire naked- 
ness. This abode presented upon the whole such a spectacle of wretched- 
ness, as to make me naturally conclude that, notwithstanding they en- 
joyed the freedom of their own will, yet, in point of comfort, their situa* 
tion would not bear a comparison with that of any Slave in our plantations. 

The manners of the better classes of the mulattoes and blacks partake 



204 



of the French. Even among the lower classe s, it is not uncommon to observe 
two wretches, almost naked, salute each other after the French style. 
The meanest inhabitant of Hayti, considers himself upon a footing not 
only with his OAvn countrymen, but with any stranger that may come in 
his way, whatever may be his rank, wealth, or information. The religion 
throughout the whole republic is Roman Catholic. It was, however, only 
lately that the head of that church took any notice of the blacks. While 
I was in Hayti, eleven priests and bishops arrived direct from Rome, to 
take charge of the church in that part of the world, and were received 
with the greatest respect by Boyer. He, however, has since had reason 
to believe, that those gentlemen were attempting to make some innova- 
tions in the government, and he has consequently obliged every one of 
them to leave the country. The religious affairs of the Haytians will 
therefore be managed as formerly, any person becoming their priest who 
sets up pretensions to that holy character. The office of the priest has, 
heretofore, been generally filled by adventurers from the Spanish Main, 
and has been a profession attended with no small emolument. The ex- 
actions of the priests from the ignorant blacks, were enormous. For 
giving absolution, their customary charge was one hundred dollars, and 
for attending a funeral twenty dollars. 

Sunday is the great market day of the Haytians. On the morning 
of that day, crowds of country people are seen pouring into town, with 
baskets of their different commodities. The markets are over about nine 
a. m. at which time it is customary to go to church. I remarked that 
very few of the Haytian men attended the church. The churches, how- 
ever, were always well crowded with women, who appeared to join very 
devoutly in the devotions. The men spend their time at home, and make 
this a day of feasting. I am inclined to believe, that the Haytians know 
but little of the pleasures of domestic life. The ceremony of marriage is 
but little attended to by the mulattoes, and by the blacks not at all. 
They, in general, attach themselves to one female, but incontinency is 
no uncommon matter among them. Frequently, besides the person who 
passes for their wife, they have one or two other mistresses. It will 
occasion surprise, no doubt, when I mention, that no Haytian female is 
permitted to marry a white man. They are not, however, prevented 
from residing with foreigners, as their " friends and most of the 
foreign merchants resident in the Republic have formed such connections, 
principally with mulatto ladies. They are excellent managers of house- 
hold matters; and give a preference to living with white people, both on 



205 



account of tieir being more kindly treated than with the men of their 
own colour, and because they are better supplied with dress, a passion 
for which, is a predominant feature in their character. The variety and 
elegance of their wardrobe will seldom be exceeded. It is no uncom- 
mon matter for a respectable coloured Haytian woman to possess up- 
wards of an hundred Madras handkerchiefs, of different patterns, thirty 
or forty gowns, and other dresses in proportion. Their minds, however, 
are but poorly informed. In general they can read and write, but their 
reading is of the lightest nature, consisting chiefly of French plays and 
novels. 

In the war which took place between the negroes and their masters, it 
was not to be expected that care could be taken of the fine plantations 
previously in the island. Both the Sugar and indigo plantations were 
permitted to go to ruin; and the only remains of the French industry 
in this delightful island are the coffee trees, which now constitute the 
wealth of the Haytians. Coffee being now the only article cultivated by 
them to any extent, and the plantations of that article not having been 
increased since the French lost their possessions in St. Domingo, the 
trade of the country has in consequence diminished. The yearly produce 
of Hayti is calculated to be thirty millions of lbs. of coffee, or about 
fifteen thousand tons, which, at a hundred pounds per ton, would only 
yield one million and a half sterling. The imports into the country should 
not exceed that sum, for coffee being the only article allowed to be ex- 
ported in return, any increase upon the imports must occasion a loss to 
the parties concerned. The imports heretofore into Hayti, have always 
very greatly exceeded in value what the country had to export in 
return, and the natural consequence has been, that the trade has been 
a ruinous one for those concerned. From the competition that has 
in consequence arisen, credit has become very cheap, and the goods 
of the foreign merchant have frequently been put into the hands of those 
who were by no means entitled to credit. The outstanding debts due by 
this description of Haytians to the British adventurers amount to a very 
large sum, of which there is but little chance of their recovering any 
part. Twelve months is a customary credit in Hayti. I believe myself 
justified in asserting, that few or none engaged in the trade to the repub- 
lic of the blacks have been successful in their adventures ; on the con- 
trary, that all of them are disgusted with the result. The trade to that 
part of the world, like every other which has opened to the enterprize of 
the British merchant, has been overdone. 



206 



No foreigner or white man can commence business iu Hayti, without 
a patent froni the government, for which he pays sixteen hundred dollars 
annually. The principal expense of their government is an allowance 
made to their President of fifty thousand dollars a-year. Their army, 
which amounts to about twenty-five thousand men, is but poorly paid. 
During the time the French were masters there, if a white and a mulatto 
went into a court of justice, the latter could seldom expect any redress. 
The reverse is now completely the order of things ; and I cannot conclude 
this letter without expressing my opinion, that the white residents in 
Hayti are by no means to be envied. The frequent mortifications which 
they are subjected to, and the danger which they every day run of 
being sacrificed by the fury of some ruffian negro, with the great want 
of society, of books, of every thing that can make life agreeable, ren- 
ders their situation not only unpleasant, but scarcely supportable for any 
length of time. 

The funerals in that climate, even among the natives, are very fre- 
quent. Scarce a day that I was at Jacquemel but one of them took place, 
and sometimes more. The funeral forms a grand procession. The male 
and female attendants appear in full dress. The men are attired in black 
coats, and chintz or nankeen waistcoats and trowsers. The dresses of 
the women, by far the most numerous groupe, are composed of white 
muslin gowns, white silk stockings, white kid shoes, and yellow Madras 
handkerchiefs tied in the form of turbans round their heads. In one 
hand they carry a white muslin handkerchief, their neck is surrounded 
with a gold chain, their fingers covered with gold rings, &c. The fune- 
rals afford the ladies an opportunity of displaying their fine dresses, and 
they crowd to this parade as to a ball-room. 

Boyer, the present president, was formerly a tailor. He owes his 
elevation to his wife, formerly the widow of Petion, whose favour he 
contrived to gain. Port-au-Prince is the most unhealthy town in the 
whole island of St. Domingo, and perhaps in the whole world. The so- 
ciety here is, however, better than in any of the other towns of the re- 
public. There is, however, only one English lady in the whole town, 
who, with an Irish lady at Auxberges, form the sum total of our fair 
countrywomen whose fortunes have led them to the dominions of presi- 
dent Boyer." 

" The character of the population of St. Domingo, says Mr.T n, is 

THE WORST ON THE FACE OF THE EARTH. EVERY MORAL TIE OR FEEL- 
ING is unknown among them. Instruction is little attended to, as the 



207 



©pen country eontains only detached cottages, at great intervals. In the 
towns there is some industry. In the country there is very little. There 
is no kind of exertion amongst the people, and the local authorities have 
no power to compell them to labour." 

On the 1 5th January, 1821, Mr. Evariste 
the missionary in St. Domingo, thus writes : — 
" Every door is shut against us, and we are de- 
prived in every possible way, of liberty to act 
according to the Gospel, or our own conscience, 
or the light of truth. This city is a burden 
to me, on account of the fearful and hor- 
rible things which I see, particularly the ha- 
bitual and sinful violation of the sabbath. We 
are like sheep exposed to the fury of wolves. 
For me I am considered by them as one depri- 
ved of reason, a fool and enthusiast. The 
only thing which keeps me here is our dear 
society, which languishes like a tree planted by 
the side of a flaming volcano # ." The difference 
between our West India Colonies and Hayti is 
strongly exemplified in the success of the me- 
thodists amongst the population of the respective 
places — converts — 

Whites. Black & coloured. 
British Colonies - - 907 23,763 

Hayti — 56 f 

* Methodist Missionary Report, 1821, p. 94. 

f Methodist Conference, July, 1822. — Debate on Buxton's motion.— 
Published by African Institution. 



208 



To use the words of an able writer, Hayti is 
• not merely relapsing into barbarism, but 
sinking fast under an odious combination of the 
darkness, ferocity, vices, and superstitions of 
all colours and all nations; unredeemed by the 
virtues of any 

Such is St. Domingo — such the state of her 
population, and such her commerce, trifling as 
it is engrossed and borne away by commercial 
rivals, in whose hands it must remain while St. 
Domingo remains as it is. Yet in the face of 
these notorious facts, Mr. Stephen in his new 
and most intemperate attack upon the West 
India Colonies, has the boldness to tell this in- 
telligent nation that by the ruin of these Co- 
lonies " WE MIGHT REGAIN AND ENGROSS THE VALU- 
ABLE commerce of Hayti; which, in complaisance 
to Jamaica, we have foolishly renounced t! !" 
Where Mr. Stephen received his commercial 
education I know not. Let him point out if 
he can, the period when this country pos- 
sessed that trade which by making our West 
India Colonies like St. Domingo he asserts we 
could " regain." And when he is called upon 
to do this he will find it as impossible to shew 

* Official Letter from Bahamas, 29th July 1823, p. 25. 
f Stephens' " Negro Slavery" Preface page 32. 



209 

how this country " might engross" the trade of 
Hayti, as it is impossible for him to shew from 
any page of history — from any act of the British 
Government, that they u foolishly renounced the 
trade (valuable !) of Hayti in complaisance to 
Jamaica 



p 



CHAPTER VIII. 



Emancipation of the Negroes in Cayenne. — Fatal 
consequences to themselves and to the cultivation. — 
Both ruined— The same consequences ensued in 
Gaudaloupe during the Rights of Man. — The same 
in Grenada. — Steele's scheme in Barbadoes a de- 
lusion and deception. — Natural and political causes 
occasioned the increased returns of his Estates. — 
Disbanded West India Black Soldiers — their bad 
Character. — Mr. Clarkson's singular Argument, 
that if we Emancipate our Colonial Slaves, the 
Slave Trade, and Slavery throughout the World, 
will be rooted out. 

In his enumeration of the benefits and advan- 
tages which African Slaves derived from eman- 
cipation^ Mr. Clarkson has inadvertantly for- 
gotten Cayenne. In 1799, the French Direc- 
tory directed Victor Hugues to emancipate 
the Slaves in that colony. Their number 
then was about 11,000. Between 4000 and 
5000 only, were persuaded to remain on the 
plantations, and work as hired labourers. But 
they worked only by fits and starts, and the 
planter had no security in their labour for taking 
olF his crop. When any of them fell sick they 



211 

were left to live or die, as might happen; medi- 
cal men, having no longer any security for pay- 
ment for their labour and skill, left the colony. 
The majority became gamblers, (40 billiard 
tables were set up), drunkards, thieves, and 
robbers. A strong garrison, however, kept them 
in nominal subjection. At the end of two years 
the French Consular Government directed them 
to be reduced to their former servile state. 
Their number was mustered and found to be 
only 8,?00, having decreased 2,300 in two years 
by their own profligacy. Such were the effects 
of sudden emancipation in Cayenne, without 
either convulsion or bloodshed. 

The same disastrous results, were seen in the 
island of Grenada, during the period that rebel- 
lion was successful. All labour and cultivation 
were abandoned by the Slaves, who burnt down 
all the Sug ar works, that they might not be called 
upon to labour any more. In Guadaloupe, also, 
under the sway of liberty and equality, and of 
Victor Hngues — the emancipated negroes relin- 
quished labour and cultivation, and became idle, 
dissolute, and profligate, in the extreme;— a 
nest of robbers and pirates. 

Leaving St. Domingo, and omitting Cayenne, 
Mr. Clarkson turns to the conduct and proceed- 
ings of Mr, Steele, the proprietor of an estate in 

p 2 



212 



Barbadoes, called Kendal,- one of the finest in the 
island. He went to Barbadoes at an advanced 
period of life, changed the whole system of 
management, and tasked the negroes, tried 
them by juries of each other, paid them so 
much for their work, made them what he called 
" copyholders? by which he changed the whole 
face of affairs on his plantation. He got his 
land holed at one fourth the former expense, the 
negroes attended to their work, did not u crowd 
to the sick-house as before? did treble work, 
raised enormous loads of provisions, produced 
immense savings ; in short, the " result n of the 
plan u was highly satisfactory to himself." In a 
plantation of 300 negroes, though under an 
honest manager, there had been only 15 births, 
and 57 deaths in three years ; whereas, under 
his system, in four years, there were 44 births 
and only 41 deaths, and 16 the net clearance of 
the estate was above three times more than it had 
been 10 years before 

Now all this statement is very plausible and 
very pleasing, but like many other statements it 
wants that most important ingredient truth. 
Upon reference to Mr. Steele's books in Bar- 
badoes, those of his executor who continued his 
system, and the records of the Court of Chancery, 

* Clarkson's " Thoughts," page 38, 39. 



213 

in that island, it appears that at the commence- 
ment of his system in 1780, there were on 
that estate, 288 negroes, and at its close, 1797, 
only 240*, while the surrounding properties 
had a general natural increase. The crops 
diminished above one fourth the quantity pro- 
duced under the usual mode of cultivating the 
cane, and managing the negroes. The expense 
of cultivation was accordingly diminished, and 
as the price of Sugar was double in the latter 
case, to what it was in the former, the returns in 
per centage, may have been for this reason in- 
creased, but not from the system established 
by Mr. Steele. 

Mr. Steele's boasted " Copyhold System," 
completely failed ; the negroes would not work 
the lands allotted to them, which Mr. Steele, in 
consequence resumed. At Mr. Steele's death, 
the negroes were found to be in a most wretched 
condition, from the effects of hard labour and 
disease, brought on by debauchery, and in short, 
there is not a man inBarbadoes acquainted witli 
Mr. Steele and his mode of management, but 
declares that his system was the worst, the most 
odious and tyrannical that could possibly be de- 
vised. I have seen various documents from 
Barbadoes attesting this fact, and as " the So- 
ciety for the Propagation of the Gospel," have 

* Letter from Mr. Haynes to Mr. Gladstone. 



214 



an estate in the neighbourhood of that which 
belonged to Mr. Steele, the respectable gentle- 
man who had charge of their estate will, I have 
no doubt if applied to, confirm the truth of what 
is here stated. 

After his death, in 1797, Mr. Steele's estate (he 
had managed it seventeen years) was so much 
involved, that a sale became necessary, and, 
after paying off the incumbrances, but a small 
sum remained # . 

Little trouble however is necessary to place in 
a correct point of view, the whole secret of the 
greater returns made by Mr. Steele's estate for 
four years after 1780 than before it. Natural and 
political causes occasioned it, even in the face of 
his injudicious experiments. For several years 
previous to 1780, most of the Windward Is- 
lands, and in a more particular manner Barba- 
does, were desolated by that insect so destruc- 
tive to the cane, called the " Borer," but more 

* Just as this sheet was putting to the press, a friend put into my 
hands a letter from Mr. Henry Sealy, who lived for eleven years in the 
neighbourhood of Mr. Steele's estate, and who, during all that time, wit- 
nessed the operation of the copyhold system. His account corroborates 
fully all I had heard from other quarters, and states most decidedly, that 
the copyhold system was most oppressive and injurious, and that the 
Slaves rejoiced when a change took place. Mr. S. was one of those gen- 
tlemen who were called to appraise Mr. Steele's estate and negroes after 
his death, and he says, that he never witnessed a more " defective gang 
of Slaves," ruined by bad management ; the estate was always out of order , 
and ahvays backward. 



215 



especially by the ravages of the u Cane Ants." 
The latter destructive vermin, (never before nor 
since seen in the West Indies,) literally covered 
the face of the earth, and consumed every green 
thing. If they came to a river they chose a still 
part of the stream, and marched forward in 
ranks till the dead formed a bridge for the living 
to pass over. When they perceived a fire they 
rushed into it from all sides, till they extin- 
guished it by the number of their dead. In 
riding along a road every footstep of the horse 
was distinctly marked amidst the swarms crushed 
to death. They made their nests under the 
roots of shrubs, hedges, plants, and more espe- 
cially the roots of the canes, and consequently 
cut off the nourishment which should have sup- 
plied the plant The destruction of crops and 
of all country provisions were the results ; and 
hence, with little or no return of produce, a 
heavy expense became necessary to feed the ne- 
groes with imported provisions. 

The tremendous hurricane of 1780 took place. 
— One physical evil removed another. — It tore 
up every plant and tree by the roots, poured an 
irresistible deluge into the recesses where the 
ants had formed their abodes, drowned and 
swept them all away. They disappeared from 
that terrible day. After this event, the land 



216 



which had for years remained in some measure 
fallow, produced most abundant crops ; whilst 
the value of produce from Barbadoes became 
greatly enhanced from the capture of so many of 
our islands by the French, during the latter years 
of the American war # . The destruction of St. 
Domingo in 1791, raised the price of Sugar still 
higher, and the introduction in 1794, of the Bour- 
bon, or rather Otaheite cane into the Colonies 
tended during 1796 and 1797, almost to double 
the crops in the Windward Islands; the crop 
of which years was taken off and shipped before 
Mr. Steele's death, which took place in the end 
of October 1797. 

Mr. Clarkson may not know these facts, or he 
may find it convenient to pass them over. Still 
they are not the less true, and are to me quite 
sufficient to account for the increase of revenue 
from Mr. Steele's estate subsequent to 1780, 
and not only so, but I am convinced had the 
management been judicious, under Mr. Steele's 
authority, the returns, under all these circum- 
stances, ought to have been a great deal more. 

Having considered and settled every thing in 

* About 60.000 hogsheads sugar annually, were thus kept back from 
the British market. During three years, the Island of Grenada, for in- 
stance shipped little of its crops ; these lay on hand, piled up in the 
curing houses, and, after the peace of 1783, were poured into the British 
market. 



217 



his own way, and to his own mind, Mr. Clark- 
son comes to the decision " that emancipation is 
practicable, without dangei, for," says he, " 1 
have not been able to discover (and it is most 
remarkable) a single failure in any of the cases 
which have been produced The result is di- 
rectly and in toto the reverse. To the instances 
already adduced, I add the following, from the 
Bahama official report : — " The disbanded black 
soldiers, that have occasionally found their way to 
these islands," says that report, "have uni- 
formly been the veriest vagrants in existence, 
and the terror of all around them. Of the last, 
two that found the means of living here for any 
length of time, one was hanged 18 months ago 
for burglary, and the other saved his neck only, 
by turning king's evidence, against his compa- 
nion: a precious specimen of those corps, the 
dissolution of which, Mr. Wilberforce (Appeal, 
p. 67) so deeply regrets -fv" 

There are but two points more, in the pam- 
phlet of Mr. Clarkson, on which it is necessary 
to animadvert. The first, (and this is the point at 
which he is all along driving,) — there is, he ob- 
serves, another consideration, worthy the atten- 
tion of the abolitionists, viz : that a public at- 

* Clarkson's " Thoughts" 
f Official Letter from Bahamas, p. 18. 



218 



tempt made in England to procure the abolition 
of Slavery, would very much promote their ori- 
ginal object, the cause of the abolition of the 
Slave trade; for foreign courts, have greatly 
doubted our sincerity, as to the latter measure ; 
and have, therefore, been very backward in 
giving us their assistance in it. " If England," 
say they, " abolished the Slave trade from moral 
motives, how happens it she continues Slavery ? " 
The simple answer of England to such a 
question would be, do you as much as I have 
done, and then we will confer upon what ought 
further to be done. But because foreign nations 
continue the Slave trade, are we to ruin our 
colonies altogether, in order to take the chance 
of our enemies, and rivals, relinquishing that 
trade? Our proceedings in this business, are 
sufficiently wild and dangerous already. We 
need not, by adopting the proceeding here re- 
commended, render ourselves the laughing stock 
of the world. 

Secondly, we are told, that * if Slavery was to 
fall in the British islands, this event would oc- 
casion its death in a given time, and without 
striking any further blow, the execrable trade 
would cease in every quarter of the world." 
Our abolition extended and aggravated the 
trade. The ruin of our colonies will raise into 



219 



greater prosperity the colonies of rival powers. 
Does Mr. Clarkson really believe, that to sink 
our West India Colonies, in the ocean, would 
abolish Slavery in the United States of Ameri- 
ca, in India, in the other nations of Asia, or 
remove the evil, from Africa ? Mr. Clarkson is 
not so weak or so ignorant, as to believe any 
such thing. 



CHAPTER IX. 



Daring calumnies of the Abolition Society and their 
writers. — The Rev. Mr. Coopers statements — his 
conduct and proceedings examined and exposed. — 
Mr. John Meabrys hideous charges refuted upon 
oath. — Affidavit, Mr. Robertson, Jamaica, on this 
head — important. — Shameless and dangerous system 
of espionage carried on by the African Institution 
against the West India Colonies. — Dangerous pro- 
ceedings of their spies and informers — attended ivith 
the most ruinous consequences, ftc. 

LEAVING Mr. Clarkson, I turn to that scan- 
dalous publication, " Thoughts on Negroe 
Slavery," &c. ; which forms the text-book for 
an article in the first number of the Edin- 
burgh Review, alluded to (No. 75). It is 
scarcely possible, and is indeed unnecessary to 
follow the " licentious" author through all his 
tortuous paths and misrepresentations. His 
fabric is built with materials supplied by two 
worthies, viz. the Rev. Thomas Cooper, and a 
Mr. I. M., whose initials, before 1 conclude, I 
shall be able to decypher. 



221 



Mr. Cooper shall come first. From the narrative 
put forward by the African Institution in his name, 
we learn that he was sent out by Mr. Thoma 
Hibbert to his estate,, Georgia, in the Parish of 
Hanover, Jamaica, to bestow religious instruc- 
tion upon his Slaves. Mr. Cooper was autho- 
rized to adopt his own plans — he was made 
quite independent of the other white people 
connected with the Slaves — he reached the 
estate on Christmas-day 1817, and with his wife 
remained there three years, when he quitted the 
island and returned to England, considering it 
useless u to consume his time" in attempting to 
bestow " religious instruction" upon the " Slaves 
who had no time to attend to him," and to whom 
he could only u preach twelve times a year." 

" Mr. Hibbert" says the publication in question, " was at the entire 
expense of Mr. Cooper's mission, and spared no outlay which be thought 
likely to contribute to the comfort of his Slaves. There were about 400 
attached to the estate. By Mr. Hibbert's orders the crop of the estate had 
been reduced from 400 hhds. to 300 hhds. that the labour might be ren- 
dered easy to the negroes. The law allowed one day out of crop each 
fortnight exclusive of Sunday, to the Slaves for cultivating their grounds," 
but " the proprietor of Georgia was more liberal than the law. The 
Slaves were allowed for this purpose (and other proprietors Mr. Cooper 
thinks may have been equally liberal) every Saturday out of crop." Not 
withstanding this, their time for religious instruction was found insuffi- 
cient, and " accordingly it was agreed that, out of crop an afternoon 
every fortnight should be allowed for religious worship and instruction." 

" There is no regular marriage instituted amongst the Slaves — the wo- 
men will say they would nqt be such fools as be confined to one man. The 
greatest villain in a moral point of view, may be and sometimes is, the 



222 



most valuable Slave." In inflicting punishment the master or overseer 
" has no written rules to guide his conduct — in point of fact, Mr. Cooper 
believes that the limitation of the number of lashes to thirty-nine is prac- 
tically disregarded. Sunday was the only day which was allowed to 
the Slaves, during crop, for cultivating and keeping in order their pro- 
vision grounds. Sunday is the only market day. The state of morals 
and religion is as bad as can well be imagined, both among whites and 
blacks. The regular church service was not at all adapted to the blacks. 
The curates and rectors said they were of no use to the Slaves as instruc- 
tors. Female children at an early age are made the mere instruments of 
licentious gratification. When visitors stay all night on an estate, they 
are accustomed, on going to bed, to desire the domestic who attends them 
to bring them a girl, with almost as little ceremony as they would 
ask for a candle, &c *." 

To quote more is unnecessary — these are the 
leading charges and statements upon which all 
their reasoning, and arguments, and schemes are 
grounded, and a more hideous system of misrepre- 
sentation and calumny was never before thrust for- 
ward to mislead a moral and religious community. 
The first point necessary to be ascertained is the 
veracity of the man who makes such statements. 
Fortunately Mr. Cooper has enabled us, and 
from his own lips, to determine that his testi- 
mony is not worth a straw — a particle of dust in 
the balance in this case. He has told us that 
66 the greatest villain in a moral respect, may 
be, and is sometimes, the most valuable Slave " 
— the assertion is untrue. It is impossible, nor 
will any man who is not fit for Bedlam credit 

* Negro Slavery, pages 36 — 54. 



223 



the tale. The immoral Slave is always the 
worst ; he soon becomes a burden to his master 
and to himself — his vices soon cut short his 
days. Mr. Cooper in page 48 tells us that 
the white master in inflicting punishment " has 
no written rules to guide his conduct;" while 
in the previous page (47) he tells us the black 
drivers by the Slave Act are u limited to ten 
stripes." The same law regulates the power 
both of blacks and whites. Mr. Cooper's pro- 
lific imagination however, does not stop here, 
but takes a bolder flight, to make his ignorance 
or malevolence more conspicuous. He tells us 
that Sunday is the only day during crop allowed 
to the Slaves "for cultivating and keeping in 
order their provision grounds # ." Unless the 
laws of nature are of late reversed within the tor- 
rid zone, what Mr. Cooper states is physically 
impossible. Crop time extends from December 
till May. The dry season during that period 
renders cultivation impossible or totally useless. 
Mr. Cooper may as well tell us that the British 
farmer cultivated his lands in winter instead of 
summer. The two cases are undeniably similar, 
and knowing this we ascertain that Mr. Cooper 
knows little of Jamaica ; and if the great and grand 
operations in the physical world either escaped 

* Negro Slavery, p. 38. 



224 



his observation, or are misrepresented by him 
it shews that his assertions on points which he was 
less likely to see so constantly and so openly, 
are not worth attending to in any one instance. 

His direct charges of universal and undis- 
guised immorality — carelessness about religion 
— and the total absence of marriage amongst the 
negroes ; these points will more appropriately be 
answered when these heads come under consi- 
deration, as included in the appeal of the abo- 
lition committee to the people of this country. 
Here it may suffice to state, that the charge of 
immorality amongst the whites, is generally 
speaking, untrue, or Mr. Cooper must have kept 
company with a different set of beings from 
those that ever any one but himself met in 
the West Indies. The stories were no doubt fa- 
bricated and imagined, or conjured up in Eng- 
land, where he accounts himself safe from the 
indignation of a deeply insulted people. 

Having considered Mr. Cooper's statement, it 
is now time to turn to other authorities. Mr, 
Cooper was indeed sent to Jamaica in the inde- 
pendent situation, and under all the favourable 
circumstances stated. He staid three years. He 
returned to Britain having done nothing to for- 
ward the object of his mission, and in addi- 
tion to the story of the negroes, having no 



225 



time to receive religious instruction, he spreads, 
after his arrival, through the medium of the Af- 
rican Institution, a variety of tales, of cruelties 
and abuses witnessed by himself in Jamaica, 
particularly on Mr. Hibbert' s estate. Now mark 
the conduct of the Rev. Thomas Cooper. Did 
he ever lay those tales before the local authorities 
in Jamaica? No ! Did he lay them before His 
Grace the Duke of Manchester, the governor? 
No ! Did he during the three years he resided 
on Georgia, or after he arrived in England, 
when he visited and conversed with and was 
questioned by Mr. Hibbert about his estate and 
his Slaves, ever complain to him of their want 
of time to receive instruction, or relate any of 
the cruelties he circulated ! No ? Did he ever 
lay those charges before His Majesty's govern- 
ment? No! " Nursing his wrath to keep it 
warm," he comes to England, lays them before 
the African Institution, and the first intimation 
which Mr. Hibbert received on Mr. Cooper's 
authority, that his Slaves were ill treated, was 
about the time when Mr. Buxton's motion was 
announced. Immediate steps were taken to send 
these charges out to Jamaica. Satisfactory refu- 
tations are already arrived, and Mr. Cooper's 
statements will be met with victorious contra- 
dictions. 

Q 



226 

To a man who could act such a disingenuous 
part, it is evident no credit is due. Nor is there 
a reasonable being not within the atmosphere of 
the African Institution, who can believe, for a mo- 
ment, that the excellent master, who, at such an 
expense, sent a religious pastor to his Slaves — a 
master who " was more liberal than the law" — 
who "reduced his crops one-fourth part for their 
ease, and who allowed them half-a-day each 
fortnight for religious instruction, during seven 
months in the year, over and above Sundays, 
and the other time allotted to the cultivation of 
their grounds, would have refused them suf- 
ficient time to receive religious instruction? 
The thing is an absurdity even to imagine. Be- 
sides, where, let me ask Mr. Cooper, is it that 
the peasantry and labourers of any country have 
so much time to devote to religious duties as 
Mr. Hibbert's Slaves had, even according to 
Mr. Cooper's shewing? 

The people of Jamaica should know some- 
thing of these matters; and their account, pub- 
lished in the Royal Gazette # and other papers, 
is to the following purport : — 

" Mr. Cooper had a most liberal establish- 
ment on Georgia estate. Five or six domestics 
were appointed to attend upon him and Mrs. 

* Jamaica Royal Gazette, July 26th. 



227 

Cooper, Every facility was given to his mis- 
sion. The negroes on the estate, or the greater 
part of them, attended his first, second, and 
third lecture ; but Mr. Cooper teaching the ne- 
groes that " Jesus Christ tvas a very good man, 
and a good preacher ; but that he was not the 
Son of God, or our Saviour/' a doctrine which 
they were never taught before, they refused any 
longer to attend him. His application to the 
manager to compel them to do so by flogging 
them was resisted. Unacquainted with the na- 
ture of negroes, Mr. and Mrs. Cooper, like 
every newly-arrived European, took up, serious- 
ly, every trifling fault, and sent their domestics 
to the overseer to be punished ; and this was re- 
peated so often, that the overseer refused to do 
so without inquiry into the offence, which, when 
he did inquire into, he generally found frivolous. 
Those who wish to be informed of the example 
of morality set by Mr, Cooper and his family, 
may consult the journal referred to, and Mr. 
Cooper may tell, if he chuses, what took place 
at the overseer's table on the day he preached 
his farewell sermon ; and if he does not explain 
what his " peculiar views" on religious subjects 
are, they will be explained for him, upon evi- 
dence furnished by himself. — At a gentleman's 
table he ventured to broach his Unitarian prin- 

Q2 



228 



ciples, but the reception he met with, convinced 
him that there were some persons who enter- 
tained a serious regard for religion in Jamaica. 
His religious principles, says the journal in 
question, " were too dangerous to he broached 
in private company ; and he had no more faith 
in Christianity than Tom Paine, or a Jewish 
Rabbi." 

Such is Mr. Cooper, and such his veracity ! 
There is but one point more which I shall 
notice, to shew the absurdity of atteuding to 
such authority. Just as he was leaving the 
island, and going on board the vessel in com- 
pany with the captain, they saw, on the streets 
of Lucea, an old man who appeared to have 
been recently flogged, his posteriors bleeding, 
and exciting no attention. There can be no 
doubt (and I have been so informed) that this man 
so standing and so seen in the public streets, was 
a negro, who had been punished by order of the 
magistrates ; and to raise a cry of lamentation 
and horror on that account, is just as fair and 
proper, as for any stranger or person here to do 
so upon their happening to see a culprit in a 
similar state after a public whipping. I notice 
this merely to shew the kind of stuff with which 
the accusations of cruelty against our Colonists 
are made up, and being obliged to have re- 



229 



course to such as these (which are even touched 
with fear) shews that they are destitute of any 
other*. 

In support of his vile system, the " Au- 
thor of Negro Slavery, &c." produces " the 
evidence of Mr. J — M — who, we are told, 
and very probably truly, " is the son of a res- 
pectable tradesman in London, who, wishing 
to do something for himself, went out to be a 
book-keeper on Bushy Park estate, St. Dorothy's, 
Jamaica, early in January 1822." The abolition 
committee give his " oral" testimony thus : 

Evidence of Mr. J M . 

J. M. is the son of a respectable tradesman inLondon, who, wishing to do 
something for himself , went out about the beginning of the last year, 1822, 
to the island of Jamaica, to be a book-keeper on Bushy Park estate, in the 
parish of St. Dorothy's, a large estate, belonging to a wealthy and liberal 
proprietor, and which has the reputation of being managed as well or rather 
better than usual f. He had no complaint whatever to make against the 

* And here it is with some regret I take leave of the Reverend Mr. 
Cooper, without a full exposure of his " peculiar views" of religion, 
his double and deceitful conduct, his praise of the treatment of Slaves in 
Jamaica while there, and his gloomy accounts of their treatment as made 
in Britain, and lastly, his bitter attack upon a worthy and respectable re- 
ligious class of men, who have done much good in our Colonies. Though 
I could state the facts to which I allude, from Mr. Cooper's own corres- 
pondence, yet, I find that by doing so 1 should (though without any 
just foundation) give Mr. Cooper and his supporters cause to carp at the 
conduct of a highly respectable gentleman already engaged in a corres- 
pondence on this subject with Mr. Cooper : but the day of exposure will 
come, and sufficiently early for Mr. Cooper. 



f New Hall estate also belongs to him. 



230 



owner, attorney, or overseer, for any harsh or unkind treatment of himself ; 
but the state of things he found there was so grating to his feelings, that 
he could not have remained, even though his health had been quite un- 
affected, which, however, was not the case ; and after a few weeks' 
residence on the estate, he resolved to return to England, in which he 
met with no opposition. His statement is as follows : — 

" The Slaves on the estate were constantly attended by drivers with 
cart or cattle whips, which they were in the habit of using as here carmen 
use their whips on horses ; and occasionally one or more Slaves were or- 
dered out of the line of work, laid prostrate on the ground, and received 
a few lashes (from two to three, or ten) on their posteriors, for no other 
offence that he could perceive or ever heard of, but that of being indolent, 
or lagging at their work, or being late. He saw a few working with iron 
collars round their necks, connected with each other by a chain ; a punish- 
ment which, he understood, was usually inflicted for running away, and 
continued sometimes for several weeks. The huts of the Slaves were 
very indifferent, and almost destitute of furniture. On Sunday they 
either attended market, or worked in their own grounds ; but none 
went, or were expected to go, to any church or place of worship ; nor 
did he ever see or hear of any instruction, religious or otherwise, being 
bestowed upon them. Many of the Slaves had women living with them 
as their wives ; but as for marriage being used, either as a means of ci- 
vilization, or for any other purpose, he never even heard the word men- 
tioned as it respected them. He understood that the white servants were 
not allowed to take those women who so lived with particular men ; but 
as for any others, they not only chose and took such as pleased them, 
but they were expected to do it as a matter of course. Accordingly, he 
was invited by the overseer to follow the general practice, the very 
first day he arrived on the estate. In a spare house, kept for the occa- 
sional use of persons coming thither for a few days, were women, whom 
he understood to be at the service of whoever came to occupy the 
apartments, and two of them were spoken of as the children of a former 
proprietor. 

" But little provisions appeared to him to be given to the Slaves. Her- 
rings and such fish, rather as sauce than as food, were given them. But 
they had grounds allotted them, and the Sunday, throughout the year, 
for their cultivation, with every or every other Saturday, out of crop- 
time (the practice on this head differing) and while strong and in good 
health, this he thought might do very well. But in crop-time (on some 



231 



estates nearly half the year) they could have very little leisure or inclina- 
tion to work for themselves, being often greatly fatigued by extra night- 
work and watching. He understood that, by the law of Jamaica, only 
thirty-nine lashes could be given at once ; but he was told, on the spot, 
that an overseer could easily, when so disposed, evade it." 

The charges here brought forward, reached 
Jamaica in coarse, and the following affidavit, 
from the persons so foully slandered has been 
published and sent home to Britain to meet and 
repel these scandalous and false accusations. 

AFFIDAVIT.* 
Jamaica, ss. — St. Dorothy. 
William Robertson, of the parish of St. Dorothy, planter, overseer of 
Bushy Park estate, being duly sworn, deposeth and saith — that he hath 
read, in a printed pamphlet, brought by the last packet, a statement of 
occurrences on said estate, said to be grounded on the information of one 
John Meabry — deponent saith he was overseer on said estate when said 
Meabry came there last year — that Meabry was there from four- 
teen to eighteen days, and was incapable, in mind and opportunity, 
of acquiring any knowledge of the concerns of the estate, which any one 
of a candid disposition would receive as evidence. In verification whereof, 
deponent saith, that Meabry was almost unceasingly in tears, and under 
the utmost dejection of mind, in so much that he took to bed and con- 
fined himself a great part of the time — that when he walked out it was 
usually about the works, towards the mansion or great house, and never 
towards the fields where the negroes were at work ; except, as deponent 
has just heard, one afternoon he walked there, when no circumstance he 
relates occurred, but came back immediately, as the book-keeper with 
whom he went informed deponent. That Meabry never was employed in 
any way on the estate, nor is his name entered in any book — he was 
wholly incapable of service, and was merely entertained, and that in the 
most hospitable and encouraging manner, until he should re-embark 
—that Meabry's dejection appeared so inveterate and extraordinary as to 
excite deponent's suspicion, if it proceeded from filial affection only — 

* See St. Jago de La Vigo, and Jamaica Royal Gazette, Aug. 30th 1823. 



232 



that when his bed-linen was to be changed, deponent caused it to be ex- 
amined, AND DISCOVERED THAT HE LABOURED UNDER A SEVERE LUES — 
that Meabry then, and not before, submitted to medical remedies, ad- 
ministered by Dr. Inchbald, who resided in the house, but is since dead 
— that Meabry, as deponent has since heard, took medicine for that 

COMPLAINT ON HIS PASSAGE OUT ! 

In refutation of the statement of the pamphlet, deponent saith — the 
whip is carried by the drivers as a badge of office, and its main use is for 
orders, as a drum amongst the soldiers, or a whistle among sailors — it is 
smacked to direct the hour of rising, and resumption of labour after meals. 
In the evening, when the negroes are housed, it draws attention to orders 
for the work of next day, of which the driver of each gang is the organ, it 
is sounded occasionally at night, to ascertain if the watchmen are at- 
tentive ; each of whom understands the call appropriate to himself, and 
is expected to answer. As an instrument of correction, it is strictly pro- 
hibited on Bushy Park, except in the presence, and by orders of the over- 
seer. No driver would presume to use it on the gang at work — no 
instance of it is known to deponent — the negroes are too well acquainted 
with their rights not to complain of such a violence — they complain freely 
of every thing which displeases them. The only latitude allowed a driver 
in the field is flagellation by birches, seldom used for any other fault 
than late appearance at work, and then only for a great frequency of that 
fault. — Therefore, deponent most positively asserts, that J. Meabry is 
guilty of a gross falsehood in stating that on Bushy Park the negroes are 
driven to work by a cart whip, as a carman drives horses — and that 
they are occasionally ordered out of the line of work, laid prostrate, and 
flogged by the driver with his whip. 

What Meabry saw were collars of iron-hoop and chain, smaller than 
used in workhouses. The negroes he saw were Dublin, attached to 
Phoenix Park Pen, in St. Ann ; Captain, to Newhall, in St. Thomas in 
Vale, both properties of Mr. Mitchell ; and Henry, to St. Jago estate, in 
Clarendon, for which Mr. Mitchell is trustee. Deponent found them in 
such confinement on coming to Bushy Park. They had run away from 
the different properties, and were brought to Bushy Park, from work- 
houses, for transmission to their homes ; the confinement was only such 
as the law authorized for securing runaways. Deponent took their pro- 
mises of amendment, and released them. Dublin ran away the next day. 
The negroes of Newhall sent to entreat that Captain might not be sent 
back to that estate, as he plundered them, and was every way obnoxious 



233 



—and Henry plainly declared, if sent to St. Jago, he would run away. 
The two latter are now at large on Bushy Park. 

Deponent solemnly declares, that all the time Meabry was at Bushy 
Park, no other Slave was so confined, nor could he have heard it was cus- 
tomary there, for deponent further declares, no such punishment is o r 
has been, during his management, nor that of any of his predecessors, that 
he has heard of, practised at Bushy Park, so that Meabry's assertion in 
respect of such punishment is absolutely false. 

There are two distinct sets of negro houses on Bushy Park, distin- 
guished by the negroes, as the towns of Kingston and Port Royal ; each 
surrounded by a substantial ring fence to preserve their pigs, poultry, &c. 
every family, or party, again incloses a space for separate use, by stocka- 
does or otherwise; these are considered sacred — the industrious, and 
respectable, build and accommodate themselves as they please, and to 
unlimited extent ; they have kitchens, ovens, tombs of brick work, Vene- 
tian windows, entertain company, and have four-post beds as good as 
many white persons. The poorer sort, or less industrious, are helped 
whenever they ask for repairs to their houses : an elderly mason has no 
other work to do ; they require little furniture, but may have it to any 
extent their industry affords, and some vie with white people in their 
accommodations. 

Bushy Park is three miles from the parish church : deponent is a pretty 
regular attendant, and exhorts the white people and negroes to attend. 
When the negroes complain of drought and other calamities, deponent 
takes the opportunity of impressing on their minds, that it is owing to 
their neglect of religion. On the three great Christmas days, great num- 
bers of the Slaves of Bushy Park attend the church — at other times the 
leading characters only attend, but it is left to their choice ; it is not 
forced on them. Deponent believes some of them occasionally go to 
the Spanish-Town church. In this Meabry cannot be taken for a wit- 
ness, he was only two or three Sundays on the estate, and then sick, and 
childish, he did not go near the church. 

Deponent does deny most solemnly, that it is a matter of course, or a 
permitted thing, that the whites may connect themselves with the female 
Slaves who have no other connections, or may select them as they choose 
' — such licentiousness is as little tolerated by deponent, as by any father 
of a family in London ; no doubt it exists in Bushy Park, but deponent 
saw none of it, and should feel it a duty to reprobate it ; and it is known 
as a rule of the house deponent occupies, where Meabry was entertained, 



234 



as are some other of the book-keepers, and the medical attendant, that 
punishment will surely follow the detection of any female coming to the 
house for such purpose. On his oath, deponent declares Meabry's as- 
sertion, that deponent invited him to do as others in that respect, is grossly 
false. Is it creditable that any one aiming at -public esteem could so so- 
licit a total stranger — a poor dispirited puling creature, with his hand- 
kerchief always at his eyes, and with a deep-seated foul disease ? Depo- 
nent is positive that even jocosely he never used to Meabry any 
expression of the tendency so falsely asserted. 

Spare House. — Meabry can mean no other than the mansion, or what 
is called the great house ; towards this he usually walked early in the 
morning, in company with the book-keeper in charge of the stock-yard 
there situated. 

This house is untenanted almost the whole year, and never occupied by 
any soul except the planting attorney, who may come there occasionally 
for half a day — seldom to sleep : Mr. M'Leaii, a married man, now and 
then takes abed ; Mr. J. Mitchell usually went to his own house; except 
also very rarely his Grace the Duke of Manchester, on a journey ; 
Mr. and Mrs. Smith and family, for a week or ten days, twice or thrice 
a year, and such of Mr. M.'s friends as came introduced by a note, almost 
always by Mr, Smith, when such friends were travelling, or were about 
to embark at Old Harbour. At the time Meabry was on the estate in 
1822, Mr. Smith escorted Lord William Montague to Bushy Park to 
dine and sleep, previous to embarkation next morning in the JohnShand; 
Mr. J. Mitchell and Mr. Hewitt, a family man, were of the party. Mr. 
Hall, late Advocate-General, now on his voyage home, was there with 
his family three or four days last month, he may be referred to for 
what he knows, has heard or seen, of the place or people. The house is 
opened and aired in the forenoon and locked up in the afternoon, every 
one going away from it, the attendants having their own houses at some 
distance. The attendants are a very old negress, as superior, two drudges 
to clean the house, and a young child about ten years old. Deponent 
denies most positively that the mansion of any other spare house, or any 
pen on Bushy Park is allotted to the base and scandalous purpose 
asserted by Meabry, with a malice the more apparent from the impos- 
sibility under his circumstances, of obtaining sufficient information ; and 
the more abhorrent for stigmatising the characters of those who occa- 
sionally use the mansion. 

Meabry's readiness to do the work he has been put to, has betrayed him 



235 



into his further palpable falsehood, that two of the females retained for 
impure purposes at " the spare house," are daughters of a former pro- 
prietor. The proprietor preceding Mr. Mitchell has been dead 30 or 40 
years, and a very old man, so that his daughters can scarcely have many 
attractions. The assertion is as false as the rest of his story. 

The negroes on Bushy Park have, at least, 400 acres of good land for 
piovision grounds, and a great part of it situated on the fertile bank of a 
river, which yields provisions in the driest seasons ; they abound in po- 
tatoes, casava,beans, peas, of various sorts, guinea corn, great corn, yams, 
pines, and various other roots, besides plantains, bananas, all of which 
they dispose of when and where they like, they also abound with fowls, 
hogs, and goats. In 1822, their crop of corn was so abundant, that, in- 
dependent of their regular days, deponent gave them extra days, and lent 
them five or six carts with cattle, upon their own time, whenever they 
chose to apply for them, to assist them in their corn, and they have a cart 
and mule continually to carry their corn to market. Numbers of them, 
in the course of the season, will dispose of some 10 bushels of corn, some 
20, some 30 to 50, at 13*. Ad. per bushel, and a good many of the indus- 
trious ones will dispose of four, six, or twelve hogs, mostly at ^5 . . 6 . . 8 
a head, besides immense quantities of poultry, eggs, and other provisions; 
and, independent of all this, they are weekly served with as good herrings 
as the mother country can produce, and corn whenever they apply for it; 
there are 360 acres of guinea corn put in annually for their support, as a 
general concern, besides what they have of their own ; no negro knows 
what want is ; a cauldron is daily boiled of nutritious articles for the 
adult invalids of the hot-house, and another for 50 children and upwards, 
whose mothers choose to partake of it for their use. 

(Signed) WILLIAM ROBERTSON. 

The only two book-keepers remaining on Bushy Park of those who 
were there when Meabry came, pointedly corroborate Mr. Robertson's 
statement; they support his testimony as to the use of the whip, as to 
thi*ee negroes who had iron collars, as to their abundant supply of pro- 
visions^ to the decency observed in his house in regard to females, which 
they aver to be as great as in a private family ; and as to the ease and 
comfort prevailing in the negro houses, they swear, in very many houses 
the negroes have four-posted bed-steads, chairs, tables, sideboards, look- 
ing-glasses, glass-ware, ovens, and outhouses, superior, to their knowledge, 
to the poorer classes in Great Britain ; they add circumstances not likely 
to come to Mr. Robertson's knowledge, owing to Meabry's age and con- 



236 



dition, more on a par with their's, and arising from familiar intercourse ; 
they say that Meabry stated himself to be seventeen years of age ; 

THAT HE WAS AFFLICTED WITH A LOATHSOME DISEASE ; that he Was of A 

puny, puerile disposition, always crying, alarmed at the climate, craving 
to return, saying that if he died it would kill " his mammy," which ren- 
dered him the object of ridicule ; they say his abhorrence of the negroes 
induced him to refuse any sort of attention from them, was always in dread 
of them, and they give two instances of this disposition ; one evening, and 
the only time he went to the field, by way of a walk, the driver smacked 
his whip as a call to the negroes for some particular duty ; some of the 
negroes began to run, which so frightened Meabry that he returned home 
in the greatest haste. The other occasion was, when the negroes were 
served with cloth, &c. there happened to fall a sbowerof rain, the negroes, 
with their articles under their arms, made a rush into the book-keeper's 
house for shelter, Meabry was in the piazza, and was overcome by fear, 
rushed into one of the book-keepers' rooms, and supplicated, in terms of 
the utmost distress, their protection against the negroes ; from his hatred 
to the negroes, they are assured, he never was inside of any of their 
houses ; and that, when he says that their houses are unfurnished, he must 
have taken his notion from their out-offices or watchmen's huts ; they 
express the utmost surprise and abhorrence at the gross falsehoods of a 
separate house for base purposes ; they say, that no house can be meant 
but the " mansion," and bear positive testimony that nobody used it but 
those alluded to by Mr. Robertson. One of the deponents says, that he 
had the care of the stock -yard appropriated for the mansion, and one 
morning Meabry accompanied him to this stock -yard ; that in passing the 
mansion Meabry said he should like to see the inside of Mr. Mitchell's 
house, before he went away. Deponent said he would procure him that 
indulgence ; carried him to the house, solicited leave of the old 
negro woman who keeps it to go over it, which was granted. There was 
nobody in the house but the old woman and two drudges, allotted for 
keeping it ; these negroes, consequently could not be daughters of a former 
proprietor, a white person, whom they believe to have been dead, as an 
old person 30 or 40 years ago ; and which was the only occasion afforded 
to Meabry during his short residence, to see that house or who was 
in it * " 

* Shameless, disgusting, and indecent as this story from J. M. is, those 
promulgated upon the authority of the Rev. Mr. Cooper, and numerous 
anonymous libellers, are infinitely more immodest, indecent, disgusting, 
and equally false. 



237 



From the following extracts it would appear, 
that Mr. Meabry continues his system of espio- 
nage, or the laudable employment of " endea- 
vouring to do something for himself". The 
best way for him to have obtained accurate in- 
formation concerning Slavery, would have been 
to have stopped a little longer in Jamaica. That 
Mr. Meabry should pursue such a course as he is 

Why, I indignantly ask, are the eyes, the ears, and the dwellings of the peo- 
ple of this generous and intelligent nation to be polluted and insulted by 
such cruel libels against whole communities of our fellow-subjects; and 
why, I repeat, are such foul abominations scattered profusely into every 
dwelling — into the hands and houses of half the virtuous families — females 
in this kingdom, and by men who, at the same moment, are busily em- 
ployed in proclaiming their superior purity ? I presume we shall next 
have the licentiousness of the bagnios of the metropolis — the purlieus of 
the Strand, or the piazzas of Covent Garden, &c. printed and circulated 
amongst our countrywomen to improve their minds, enlarge their ideas, 
and purify and soften their hearts. We may with more justice have 
these things circulated than the libels we have mentioned, inasmuch as 
these are true, the other not true ; as to have it circulated and distributed 
upon the authority of the Rev. Mr. Cooper, that the black " women in 
Jamaica will say they would not be such fools as to be confined to one 
man." That experience may have taught him so — that some of them, 
many of them might tell him so, is probable, but that all, or a majority 
of them did so, I disbelieve, and the general and sweeping assertion 
here made by Mr. Cooper, convinces me how little he understood or in- 
quired into the negro character. 

" It is a shame," says the Apostle Paul, "even to speak of those things 
which are done of them in secret." Not so with us, echoes the African 
Institution, it is our glory and our boast to speak of these things, to 
dwell upon them, to circulate them, comment upon them — exaggerate — 
invent. The labour affords us peculiar delight, and tends to open the eyes 
of the young and rising generation, and to give them full knowledge of 
good and evil. 



238 



doing, is probably not surprising; but for a 
Member of the British legislature, who could at 
any time call upon his Majesty's government to 
furnish him with accurate information, on all 
points regarding the West Indies — for him to' 
be found seeking information through such a 
channel, is strange indeed. 

Extracted from the " Jamaica Courant" of 2d Dec. 1823. 

St. Jago de la Vego, November 22d. 
Our readers will recollect the affidavit of Mr. Robertson, which we laid 
before them some time ago, concerning the character and description of 
the man Meabry, who furnished the saints with such false and ungrateful 
evidence regarding Bushy Park estate, and on which the charges in a late 
pamphlet against these Colonies were principally founded. We have late- 
ly seen two letters from him to a young man in this parish, with whom 
he became acquainted, by which it appears that he is still busying him- 
self to injure those who treated him so well ; and we have copied the 
following two passages, as affording proof from himself, of his ingrati- 
tude, and of his present designs, and exposing the name of the saint who 
extracted the calumnies from him, to wit — Mr. Smith, M.P. from whom 
it appears he has some expectations, as a reward, we presume, for 
becoming a wholesale liar. 

" London, Dec. 25th 1822. 

" I often think of Bushy Park and the way in which I was treated by 
Mr. Robertson ; Mr. John Mitchell also treated me very kindly, which I 
shall ever remember with gratitude." 

" August \th 1823. 

" If you can give me any information on Slavery, you will very 
much oblige me, and you may depend on its being kept sacred. No 
doubt there has been a great deal of talk about the evidence I gave Mr. 
Smith, M.P. and should like very much to have your candid opinion on 
the subject. 1 shall also like to know how all the gentlemen are on 
Bushy Park estate." 



Such are the sources and the characters from 



239 



which the enemies of the Colonies obtain their 
information, and such the daring system of ca- 
lumnies and falsehoods upon which the Planters 
are condemned, and their characters destroy- 
ed. It would be a waste of words to point out 
the danger and infamy of such a system as this. 
It must come home to every bosom which is not 
dead to every feeling of honour, patriotism, 
truth, and virtue, and can excite in every ho- 
nourable mind, only one feeling of contempt 
and indignation. 

That the African Institution carry on a most 
terrific system of espionage against the West 
India Colonies, is not to be doubted. Their 
spies in the Colonies are numerous, and their 
characters such, as in ninety -nine cases out of a 
hundred, render them justly execrated and 
dreaded by every thing honourable and good in 
the community Their influence, it would 
seem, extends into every department of Co- 
lonial government ; and though it has lately 
received a check and exposure, still there is 
reason to believe that some of the old leaven 
remains, which must be purged from the Colo- 
nial lump, before these possessions can enjoy 
repose or find security. The Edinburgh Re- 
view, their great organ, boldly advertised for 
the emissaries who are required. " It would be 



240 



highly impolitic in the board (African Institu- 
tion) to disclose in a public report their infor- 
mation on this subject. We shall continue the 
same silence, and entreat such of our readers as 
have the means of giving information, which 
may assist in detecting the practices in question, 
to transmit their Colonial information without 
delay, either to the publishers of the Review, 
or to the Institution in London (the Address of 
the Secretary, Mr. Macaulay, is Birchin Lane, 
London) Misery, mischief, and ruin, must 
be the consequences of such a system as this, 
which, since the inquisition was abolished in 
Britain, never dared to rear its head in the 
country. 

The instructions given to these informers or 
agents, whether local or imported, were to 
supply accusations, quocunque modo accusa- 
tions. Such was the case of Mr. Middle-ton, 
engaged 23 years ago to take charge of the 
school at W alton, Jamaica. When that gentle- 
man could no longer shut his eyes to facts 
every hour witnessed, and when he could ob- 
tain no accusations without violating truth, he 
transmitted his information accordingly, and the 
reply, by return of packet, to him was (e we 
have no further occasion for your correspon- 

* Edinburgh Review, vol. xv. page 501. 



241 



dence ; we are sorry to find you have been bitten 
by the rattlesnake ; and we can believe nothing 
you may advance in future 

The case of Governor Elliot, in St. Kitts, 
who at the time he was telling the Colonists to 
their face that they were the most excellent of 
men, wrote to his Majesty's government that 
they were a set of miscreants who could neither 
be believed on their honour nor their oath, is 
a striking instance of the efforts of the Insti- 
tution, in the course mentioned, and so well 
known, as to require only to be mentioned to be 
remembered with indignation. His case was cer- 
tainly not an insulated one. Colonel Macallister's 
case is not forgotten, who got the hint to write 
only such letters as w r ould please in a certain 
quarter. The cruel libel upon the character of 
Sir James Leith's aide-de-camp, which Sir 
James declared to be u a calumny without the 
shadow of a foundation f and which the court 
of King's Bench, in London, established, by a 
verdict to the same effect ostensibly against Mr. 
Hatchard ; but, in fact, against one of their 
secret " incorrigible dupes," developes their 
machinations in all their deformity. 

Some years ago the papers laid before Parlia- 

* Jamaica Royal Gazette, July 19th, The author states he had the 
information from Mr. Middleton himself. 

R 



242 



ment, upon the authority of the different gover- 
nors, informed the nation that the Slave popula- 
tion were well treated. The governor of Hon- 
duras especially, in 1817, stated " I have in no 
part of the world seen the labouring classes of 
people possessing any thing like the comforts 
and advantages of the Slave population of this 
country." In 1822, Colonel Arthur, a new go- 
vernor, first writes to Earl Bathurst, that they 
were perfectly well treated, but afterwards, 
that they " were severely oppressed," even be- 
yond u any idea he had formed of the extent of 
their grievances # ." The year following, the 
brave and upright Colonel Codd, appointed to 
that government, officially writes thus to Lord 
Bathurst, "here the negro is well fed, well clothed, 
and every comfort suiting his station is liberally 
provided for him, here are no regular systems 
of punishment : here are no workhouses ; and I 
really believe in no part of the world where 
Slavery exists, can the government of them be 
in a more indulgent form ; it is quite common 
for them to lay by hundreds of pounds, with 
which they purchase the freedom of themselves, 
or obtain a friend to purchase with their money, 
that of their wives and daughters f". How 

* Parliamentary Paper, No. 457, page 18, Session 1823. 
f Parliamentary Paper, No. 457, page 100, Session 1823, 



243 

different the statements before and after Colonel 
Arthur's government ? The African Institution, 
who pretend to know so many things, can pro?, 
bably tell us the reason. 



R 2 



CHAPTER X. 



Manifesto of the abolition society \ — Examined point 
by point. — Their charges refuted in every instance, 
— True state of our West India Colonies, and 
the treatment of our negroes in these possessions 
most particularly stated. — Marriages. — Religious 
instruction and establishments. —Population of these 
Colonies — their labour, their food — their cloth- 
ing, their houses — their property — their pun- 
ishments—fixed by law, fyc. — Scandalous mis-state- 
ments, and calumnies, advanced under these heads 
against the Colonies, by the Review, Mr. Clarkson* 
and others, 

THE labours of a self-constituted body in the 
metropolis, styling itself " The committee of the 
London Society, for mitigating and abolishing 
Slavery in the British dominions/' next require 
consideration. Who the individuals are who 
compose this society, it is not very material to 
inquire. Generally they are members of the 
African Institution, which society, Proteus like, 
assumes every shape as suits its purpose. Some 
passages, however, in the works of the society, 
such as "protecting duties and bounties ex- 
clusively afforded to the growers of Sugar 



245 



in the West Indies " enable us to trace the 
interested pen of him who guides the u Com- 
mittee " of this anti-colonial and dangerous so- 
ciety. Trampling upon every principle of truth, 
justice, and Christianity ; this interested commit- 
tee artfully adduce the most hideous calumnies 
against our West India Colonies, that they may 
get the support of the mother country withdrawn 
from these possessions, and bestowed upon our 
purer East India territories ; but more especially 
upon that capacious grave of human life, and 
check to commercial enterprise in Africa — 
Sierra Leone. 

The exertions of this unconstitutional society 
are so incessant, so persevering, and so fraught 
with clanger, that it becomes the duty of every 
man who has any regard for his country, to de- 
velope and arrest them. In a particular man- 
ner this is due to those multitudes of truly bene- 
volent men amongst us who are misled by the 
arts and calumnies of interested and designing 
men, of reforming politicians, who under the mask 
of liberty and humanity, agitate, and disturb this 
country ; and who, sounding their trumpets, pub- 
licly announce, see "we give alms," (their pock- 
ets closely shut all the while) proclaiming also, 
66 thank God we are not like other men, publicans 
and sinners." West India Slave masters — "stand 



246 

back, give place, we are wiser, better, holier, than 
other men." Was this the language used, or com- 
manded to be used by the great apostle of the 
Gentiles, in his intercourse with Slave masters and 
Slaves? No! In addressing themselves to Slaves, 
men who owned Slaves and men who did not, 
the Apostles of old taught thus, " be kindly 
affectioned one towards another — in brotherly 
love preferring one another." And the greatest of 
all the Apostles in his days defined Christianity 
to be, that " Charity which suffereth long and 
is kind, which vaunteth not itself, is not puffed 
up, not easily provoked," which u thinketh no 
evil? and which u rejoiceth not in inquity, but 
rejoiceth in the truth" Judging the society in 
question by their productions, it would appear, 
that their Christianity, and that inculcated and 
taught by the Apostle Paul, is totally different^ 
for instead of " thinking no evil," the society 
seem to think only of evil, and instead of re- 
joicing at truth, they rejoice only in contem- 
plating K iniquity" 

With these observations (which I may here 
remark, apply only to those men behind the 
curtain, who knowing the truth, conceal or 
misrepresent it, to suit their views,) called for 
by the means and the ways adopted and pursued 
by the anti-colonial party, I proceed to lay 



247 



before the reader, paragraph by paragraph, the 
false and disgraceful charges contained in the 
appeal to the public, made by that society, and 
circulated throughout Great Britain. 

" In the Colonies of Great Britain there are at this moment, upwards 
of 800,000 human beings in a state of degrading personal Slavery." 

Mark the disingenuousness and malignity of this 
society. They set out with stating their object 
to be the abolition " of Slavery in the British 
dominions," and yet at a leap they pass over the 
millions of Slaves in India, " that strong hold of 
iniquity," where, u from time immemorial, Sla- 
very had built itself a nest," as Mr. Wilberforce 
expressed it # , and pounce upon our West In- 
dia Colonies only f. That there are about 

* Speech, House of Commons, March 19th 1823. " There was this 
to be said with respect to Slavery in the East," namely, " that there it 
had from time immemorial built itself a nest — become a part of individual 
existence. It had existed as long as 2,000 years," in India " that strong 
hold of evil — for this they were not answerable — they had not caused it/* 

t The population stands thus in 1821, including the Mauritius. 

Whites. Free coloured. Slaves. Total. 





28,000 


30,000 


345,000 




Demerara and Esquibo - 


2,871 


2,980 


* 77,346 




Berbice - - - - - 


* 310 


94 


16,300 




Trinidad 


* 3,440 


14,344 


21,719 




Tobago - - - - - 


* 324 


156 


14,597 






* 883 


2,742 


26,910 




Grenadines - - - - 


226 


76 


2,000 




St. Vincents - - - - 


827 


646 


22,020 




Barbadoes - - - - 


13,71)4 


2,613 


69,132 





St. Lucia, 



248 



700,000 of human beings, personal Slaves in the 
West India Colonies is a fact ; and it is equally 
true, that the laws of Great Britain made them 
so. The state of Slavery, however, there estab- 
lished, is milder and better protected, than 
in any country on the globe, where such a state of 
society exists. The value of these Slaves, for 
value they have by the laws of England, amounts 
at £80 each, to ^56,000,000 sterling, and the 
other property which depends upon their value, 
amounts to double the sum, together nearly 
170 millions # , four -fifths of which immense pro- 
perty belong to persons resident in Britain, or 





Whites. Free coloured. Slaves. 


Total. 




1,000 


1,500 


10,000 






- * 993 


2,932 


15,686 




Montserrat- - - - 


- * 253 


522 


6,126 






1,300 


150 


8,909 






1,800 


198 


* 17,788 






- * 1,980 


4,182 


31,064 




Virgin Islands - - 


1,300 


220 


9,000 






3,000 


2,000 


* 10,649 






4,754 




4,794 




Mauritius (1819) - 


8,078 


12,806 


80,185 




Total 75,133 78,161 789,225 942,259 
Those marked thus * are from Parliamentary returns last Session, 



the others the population from official and other returns in 1815, and 



subsequent years. 

* Valuable •property, West Indies, 1789. 
Slaves,— No. 450,000 at ^50 - - ^22,500,000 

Lands, works, &c. 45,000,000 

Houses, towns, &c. 2,500,000-700,000, &c. 

Report, Committee P. Council, 1719, part 4. 



249 

mortgaged to her merchants. The abolition or 
rather emancipation committee must remember 
this fact. 

"These Slaves," says the emancipation committee scribe, " are the abso- 
lute property of their master, who may sell or transport them at his 
pleasure ; and who may also regulate according to his discretion (within 
certain limits) the measure of their labour, their food, and their punish- 
ment. The Colonial laws arm the master, or any one to whom he may 
delegate his authority, with a power to punish his Slaves to a certain ex- 
tent, without the intervention of a magistrate, and without a?ii/ responsi- 
bility for the use of this tremendous discretion, and to that extent he may 
punish them for any offence, or for no offence." 

With the exception that the Slaves are the 
property of their master, there is not (as these 
sentences stand, and are meant to stand and 
to be understood) a syllable of truth in one of 
them. The labour, the food, and the punish- 
ment of Slaves, are all regulated by fixed laws 
enacted by, and under the delegated authority 
of the sovereign of Great Britain and his coun- 
cil, and subject to their revision and controul. 
The violation of these laws, also, comes under 
their cognizance by review, if supposed or sus- 
pected, to be erroneously or partially adminis- 
tered. As to the labour, food, and punishment, 
established by these laws, no case has ever been 
made out to shew that the first is too hard, the 
second too little, or the third too severe. Any 
attempt to violate these laws in any respect, is 
readily cognizable, and the Slaves can find a 
ready and certain redress. 



250 



*The statement put forth, that a master can 
punish his Slave to a certain extent (why not 
state the extent ?) and for no offence is a positive 
untruth. If the Slave-die under his hand, or if 
death ensue in consequence of the punishment, 
even when inflicted by alegal weapon, though with- 
in the limits which the law permits, the master is 
liable to be tried and executed for the offence. The 
fountain of mercy, his majesty's representative, 
may, taking all circumstances into consideration, 
pardon and forgive, but no other power can save 
him. To this responsibility every master is liable. 
The laws of antiquity left the master of Slaves 
* without responsibility for this tremendous discre- 
tion." These, but more especially the Jewish law 
seem to have considered the murder of a Slave by 
his master, as a crime impossible, or at least re- 
moved beyond the power of mere human juris- 
prudence to determine. By a positive law the 
Great Author of our being, has determined the 
point. While death without mercy was de- 
nounced against a free man for causing the 
death of another free man, the decree was dif- 
ferent regarding the Slave who might die under, 
or in consequence of the chastisement of the 
master : Exod. ch. xxi. v. 20. " And if a man 
smite his servant, or his maid, with a rod, and 
he die under his hand, he shall surely be punished. 



251 



Notwithstanding if he continue a day or two, hd 
shall not he punished. He is his money." For 
this reason the law was forbidden, to account 
the master guilty of murder, even though he 
should have struck the Slave with an illegal 
weapon. By the word " punished" here used, 
is to be understood, any punishment less than 
death, at the discretion of the judges. It is im- 
possible to peruse this divine law, without being 
struck with the deepest admiration and venera- 
tion. We behold in it the goodness and mercy 
of infinite power, and unerring ivisdom. Sup- 
posing no feeling of humanity remained in the 
bosom of the master, yet his inhumanity being 
counteracted by the strongest passions that 
inhabit the buman breast, interest and avarice, 
the motive which could induce a master to de- 
stroy his Slave — " his money " must lie so deeply 
concealed as to be beyond the power of human 
legislators to descriminate. Leave the crime to 
me in this instance saith the Almighty. It be- 
longs to me alone to judge, punish, and avenge. 
The enemies of the colonies, when they so loudly 
proclaim the unceasing murders committed in 
the West Indies, would do well to remember this 
sacred law, and tremble at their own presumption. 
Man is not wiser than his Maker. 

It is very true that criminal Slaves are pu- 



252 



nished by flogging. So are both men and 
women punished in Great Britain. It is the 
only punishment, except confinement, that the 
law in the W est Indies defines and permits, 
except in cases of capital felonies. It is equally 
true, that it is inflicted by a whip, but not a 
cart whip, nor an instrument, equal in cruelty to 
the cat-o'-nine tails used in the army and navy of 
Great Britain. A similar instrument was used 
for a similar purpose amongst the Jews, and 
also amongst the Romans, for punishing cri- 
minal Slaves, or persons suspected of being 
Slaves; as appears from the writings of the 
apostle Paul, as well as the heathen historians. 
The Jewish law is the maximum of punishment 
by the hand of the master, in our Colonies, 
namely, "forty stripes save one? In many 
places, however, it is less and seldom exercised 
to that extent, even where merited. Females in 
particular are now, in the islands, scarcely ever 
subjected to punishment, and certainly never but 
for great crimes — crimes which, were they free, 
their lives would be forfeit. This fact is well 
known to all acquainted with the Colonies. What- 
ever may be asserted to the contrary, no Slaves 
but the guilty are punished. At all times the 
master will rather forgive and screen, than 
injure what is his own. The Slaves know this 
wel3 ; and in their depredations and offences cal- 



253 



dilate upon it No black man, nor white 
man in a subordinate situation in the Colonies, 
is on any account allowed to strike or punish 
a negro, whether guilty of an offence or not 
That offence, upon a regular complaint, must be 
examined into and punished by the master or his 
immediate delegate. If the negro has been 
guilty of any serious crime, he is tried by a Slave 
Court, composed of magistrates as the law directs, 
and after a regular trial, punished at their dis- 
cretion. If it is for a capital felony, then the 
proceedings must all be taken down in writing, 
and submitted to the governor, who may con- 
firm or supersede the sentence as he sees meet 
In different islands the mode of procedure is 
different, but all amounting to, and guaranteeing 
equal protection and security to the Slave. It 
is certainly not a little singular, that there should 
be such a cry of horror raised at punishing 
Slaves, the most criminal, by flogging, when 
the same system was, and is now, often had re- 
course to, even upon the persons of females, in 
Great Britain, and for offences for which, even 
if guilty, the negro would not be touched. 

But, say the anti-colonists, a master mag 
punish his Slave too severely, and for no offence, 
Man may do any thing — law can only take cogni- 
zance of the offence when committed ; and the 



254 



master who could be so cruel or unwise, as to 
do either, can be quickly reached, and severely 
punished. But the negro, being a Slave, can- 
not bear witness in the Supreme Court against 
his master; and therefore if there be no free 
witnesses, the criminal may escape. In the first 
place, this is not the case in all the Colonies, 
nor strictly true in any ; and in the next place, 
where that appears to be the bar to justice, the 
matter is cut very short. The master is com- 
pelled to be evidence against himself. The 
Slave has been unmercifully treated. There he 
is — who did it? If the master does not know, 
he is presumed not willing to know, in fact, he 
is held to be the criminal, and the law impera- 
tively takes the Slave from him, and gives him 
to another master. Seldom, very seldom indeed, 
is there occasion in any colony to put such a 
law in operation. But still such a law exists 
and has been acted upon, 

" Many of the Slaves are (all may be) branded by means of a HOT iron, 
on the shoulder or other conspicuous part of the body, with the initials of 
their master's name, and thus bear about them, in indelible characters, 
the proof of their debased and degraded state." 

As this paragraph is worded, it is one of the 
bitterest calumnies and falsehoods ever penned. 
In the windward islands, no such a thing is ever 
seen or heard of amongst Slaves, even the most 



255 



criminal of Slaves. The general charge is 
founded upon the following partial case. While 
the Slave trade continued., and numbers of Afri- 
can negroes were brought into the extensive co- 
lony of Jamaica, it was found necessary to mark 
the initials of their master's name on some con- 
spicuous part of the body, and which was gene- 
rally on the arm or shoulder. This was done, 
that in case any of those newly imported Slaves 
should wander from their master's estate, being 
unable to speak any language that was under- 
stood or to make themselves known, it might by 
that means be ascertained to whom they be- 
longed. The manner in which the initials were 
affixed, was as follows : A plate of silver, on 
which the initials were formed, was heated bv 
spirits of wine, and the skin lightly touched so 
as to discolour it, and leave the form of the let- 
ters ; the operation, physicians state, occasioned 
scarcely any pain, and no excoriation, which, 
had it done, would in fact have destroyed the 
object of the operation. No Creole Slaves, or 
those who could fluently speak languages gene- 
rally understood were so marked, and none, either 
Creole or African, have been so branded since 
the abolition. Humane motives prompted the 
measure, known in Jamaica only— it was done 
to save the Slave from danger, and perhaps the 



256 



loss of life — no t to mark or discriminate the 
property. But, when will the anti-colonial party 
tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but 
the truth? Never while they can substitute 
falsehood or misrepresentation for it. 

** The Slaves, whether male or female, are driven to hard labour, by 
the impulse of the cart whip, for the sole benefit of their owners, from 
whom they receive no wages, and this labour is continued (with certain 
intermissions for breakfast and dinner) from morning to night through- 
out the year." 

This is either wholly false, or else the facts 
are misrepresented. The Slaves are not driven 
to their work ; the whip is only used to punish 
them when they neglect their duty, or commit 
a crime ; the persons called drivers, so far from 
driving them to the field, leave their houses, 
and reach the places where they are to work, at 
least half an hour before a single negro turns 
out, or approaches the place. Wherever they 
go, or whatever they are about, he goes before - 
them, and stands before them, not behind them, 
nor dare he use a whip to any one, unless he is 
commanded. The master, indeed, gives his 
Slave no wages in that acceptation of the word, 
but he gives him better, what the Slave can less 
easily abuse, viz. clothing, food, a house, uten- 
sils for it, lands to cultivate for himself, imple- 
ments to cultivate his own fields, he protects 
and supports him in sickness, infirmity, and old 



257 



age ; good or bad times make no difference 
to him, he is still provided for, justice is obtain- 
ed for him without a fee, and he has no taxes 
to pay. Are these things nothing? Are they 
not wages, such as millions of free men cannot 
possibly obtain ? Why should these undeniable 
truths be so disingenuously concealed ? 

The nature of their labour, and whether it is 
f hard labour " or not, will best be ascertained 
by laying fully before the reader, a plain and 
undeniable statement:— 

The days and nights in our West India Islands 
are so nearly equal, that the difference is not worth 
taking into account, and may be taken at 12 hours 
each. The negroes are called to their work in the 
morning on some estates by a bell, on some by 
the blowing of a shell, and on others by the 
crack of the whip; they seldom assemble till 
half past 6 o'clock, and they quit their work 
again at 6 in the evening. During this period, 
they have two hours to dinner, and one to 
breakfast, the latter of which is carried out to 
them by women appointed for that purpose, and 
who also carry water during the heat of the day, 
to such as may want it to drink. If a heavy rain 
falls, they are ordered to their houses, and if 
they get wet, they receive each, who may chuse 
to take it, a dram. Women who have families 

s 



258 



are allowed to remain in their houses till nine 
o'clock, in order to take care of their children, 
and cook their husbands' breakfasts, which they 
carry to the field warm, leaving their children 
under the care of an old woman, who receives a 
quantity of rice, and abundance of milk to feed 
them with, while the mother is at work. Some 
prefer in good weather to carry them out to 
the field with them, where the same attendance 
is allowed ; in this the mother pleases herself. 
She is allowed to go home half an hour before 
noon, to stay half an hour later than the other ne- 
groes when they turn out in the afternoon, and 
again gets liberty to go home to her house, half 
an hour before sunset ; she never works above 
six hours in the day, nor does any negro out of 
crop work above nine hours. 

If any of them are short of provisions, and 
want to go to their grounds for them, they are 
permitted upon asking. If they have hogs, 
goats, &c. to kill and carry to market, they are 
not only permitted, but assisted. If they wish 
to go and see a friend in a distant part at any 
time, it is readily granted ; their labour is alto- 
gether performed by the hoe, aud is upon the 
whole, exceedingly light and easy ; it is child's 
play compared to the work performed by the la- 
bourers in this country. The plough is used on 



259 



some estates, bat on the majority of estates in 
the West India Islands, it cannot be used on 
account of the very steep, but in a more parti- 
cular manner, from the exceeding stony and 
rocky nature of the land \ 50 negroes will hole, 
and 20 cross hole, an acre of land per day, 15 
manure, and 10 plant it, 15 to 20 weed it, 12 
weed ratoons, and 9 or 10 in strong canes, cut 
as many as will make a hogshead of Sugar. 
They do not know what hard labour is, and it is 
not a little remarkable, that the enemies of the 
Colonies are now bringing forward in support of 
their theories, that very evidence taken before 
Parliament, which they formerly either conceal- 
ed or denied, which went to prove, that one 
European free man, did as much work in one 
day, as three negroes *. 

Women who are bearing children are most 
carefully and tenderly treated. From the third 
month of pregnancy, they are exempted from 
labour, a proper midwife and nurse are appoint- 
ed to attend them at the time of delivery, and a 
medical man is within call, in case of necessity ; 
his assistance is scarcely ever required. With- 
in the Torrid Zone, parturition is compara- 
tively easy ; the mother at this time receives 

* Clarkson, Cropper, Review, Macaulay, &c. &c. 

s2 



260 



cordials, wine, and nourishing food, and she is 
never required to turn out to do any work, till 
six weeks or two months after her delivery. 
While nursing, she receives an extra allowance 
of two quarts of fine flour, and from two to three 
lbs. of Sugar weekly ; she receives double allow- 
ance of Osnaburghs, and checks, and linen, and 
handkerchiefs for herself and her young children. 
Herself and nurse, in some islands, receive one 
dollar each, if the child survives three weeks ; 
if the child survives fifteen months, the mother 
receives six dollars, two dollars more upon the 
child joining the grass or vine gang ; if she has 
reared six children of her own, or including any 
adopted one, she is by law exempted from la- 
bour, but the very lightest work, and the usage 
of several islands is, that with that number, the 
mother is never required to do any work of any 
kind, nor is her name ever called but for the 
purpose of receiving her own and her children's 
allowances # . 

An experienced surgeon attends and visits 
every estate twice a week, some daily, and is 
always at hand in case of emergency. Accord- 
ing to his directions, the hospital is supplied 
with cordials, wine, and food, these cost the 
Slave nothing. The more respectable negroes 

* St. Vincent's, Official Correspondence, p. 52, 53. 



261 



who have families, are allowed to remain in their 
own houses, where they are equally supplied, 
and meet with the same medical attendance ; 
the greatest care and attention is paid to the 
aged and infirm, and it is both pleasing and sa- 
tisfactory to visit them in their comfortable 
dwellings, and hear them relate the tales of 
other times, what they have done, not what they 
have suffered. 

" In the season of crop, which lasts four or five months in the year, 
their labour is protracted, not only throughout the day, as at other times, 
but during either half the night, or the whole of every alternate night *." 

This also is falsehood. Formerly, it was a 
general custom during crop to make Sugar 
during the night. It is still in some places the 
practice ; but when that is the case, the negroes 
are divided into three watches or spells, while 
on estates well handed, they sometimes mustered 
five. One spell took the labour at the works 
from mid-day to midnight, and another from 
midnight to mid-day, by which regulation, with 
three spells, the negroes so employed, had the 
half of each night, and the whole of each alter- 
nate night to rest, and that at the season of the 
year when the days are shortest, Besides, it 
must be borne in mind, (and which the Aboli- 
tionists with their usual want of candour con- 
ceal) that the labour about the works is — was 

* Committee Abolition Address. 



262 



the only labour carried on by night. On an 
estate which makes 180 hogsheads of Sugar, only 
eleven negroes are employed, where night work 
is carried on, and so in proportion to other and 
more extensive estates. From this were, and are, 
exempted altogether, all women with families, 
carters, mule-boys, cattle-keepers, watchmen, 
&c. &c. — of late years, however, the improve- 
ment in machinery, and making and hanging 
boilers is so great, that night work is be- 
coming less frequent throughout the West In- 
dies, and the labour which commences at day- 
light, is finished by eight in the evening. The 
negroes also, are in general tasked to a quantity 
of work, which they can easily perform, and this 
being the case, they rise in the morning when 
they please ; they often finish the mill work by 
sun-set. Should a bad day at any time keep them 
a little later, they are not required to come to 
work till seven o'clock next morning, so that 
they have always their full night's rest. In a 
very short time, night work would be altogether 
unknown in the Colonies, were the planters left 
alone to turn their time and attention to those 
improvements going on in the world, and to 
obtain the means of introducing them upon their 
plantations. 

As a further illustration of the moderate rate of 
their labour, I may add the following statement, 



263 



communicated to me a few months ago by a 
gentleman from Trinidad. His estate is 14 miles 
from the shipping-place, and consequently the 
cartage is what is accounted very heavy. It is 
carried on in the following manner. The carters 
load the carts in the evening, and about three 
o'clock in the morning they set off, and gene- 
rally return about three in the afternoon, when 
they feed their mules and retire to rest. Next 
day they feed and dress their mules, put their 
harness in order, and do any light work about 
the works till twelve o'clock. They then go to 
their gardens, and, except loading their carts in 
the evening, and feeding their mules, do nothing 
more that day. Next morning they proceed to 
the shipping-place as before. One cart, with 
two mules and two negroes, carries forward one 
hogshead of Sugar ; in some places waggons are 
used, and the labour therefore of all these com- 
bined is equal to travelling from London to 
Barnet and back three times a week! 

Next we are told that the negroes are driven to their work, and com- 
pelled to labour under the lash on Sunday, in order to procure a main- 
tenance for themselves. 

This is a falsehood, more mischievous and 
unfounded than the rest. Sunday is a day which 
is their own, and which they claim as their own, 
to spend as they think meet, and in which the 



264 



driver lays his ensign of authority aside. Na 
whips are seen on that day, nor do the Slaves 
need to labour on that day to procure their food ; 
many of them do labour on part of that day, 
but it is for gain, and at their own pleasure, not 
from necessity, nor at the command of their 
master. The Legislature of St. Vincent's may 
speak for the whole West Indies on this head ; 
they give u a most positive and flat denial to that 
cruel and unmanly calumny, that the Slaves, in- 
stead of being allowed the exercise of their reli- 
gious duties on the Lord's day, are driven by 
the command of their masters, to labour on that 
day of rest to all other beings, in the provision 
grounds to raise a maintenance for themselves $ 
this is one of the falsehoods which the very pro- 
pagators of it must have known to be so, be- 
cause it is impossible that the most depraved of 
their spies in the Island of St. Vincent's would 
venture to assert as a fact, that which every 
negroe in the colony could, if questioned, falsify ; 
which is also most effectually done by the 8th 
section of the New Slave Law Many of the 
negroes after attending the markets in the morn- 
ing, are very regular attendants at church, 
which their masters most anxiously encourage ; 
when they spend the day otherwise, it is their 

* St. Vincent's Official Correspondence, p. 19. 



265 



master's loss, and to his regret. The Sunday is 
spent by the Slaves in the Colonies, much as it 
is spent in all Roman Catholic countries, and 
even in Protestant countries on the Continent of 
Europe ; the abuse of that sacred day is certain- 
ly much to be regretted, but it is daily becoming 
less in the Colonies, and the introduction of ra- 
tional knowledge and true Christianity will ul- 
timately remove an evil to be lamented, but 
which must be effected by knowledge, not by 
compulsory laws, amongst such a race of men as 
the negroes are, and this reformation is not the 
work of a day. 

Half a day each week is commanded by law, 
to be given to the Slaves, to cultivate their 
grounds during that period of the year, viz. 
from May till January, when alone cultivation can 
be carried on ; but the master does not consider 
the law as binding to give them no more time. 
It is of the utmost importance to him, that his 
Slaves should have abundance of provisions, and 
therefore, he regulates the time given according 
to the season, and the necessity of giving addi- 
tional time, more or less ; he accordingly allows 
that time, as he sees most advantageous, more 
especially at the commencement of the wet sea- 
son, when the seeds and plants require to be 
put into the ground expeditiously, and when the 



266 



rising weeds require to be kept down amongst 
the young plants; days together, are allowed 
to the Slave, as the case may be, for that 
purpose one day at that time, is of more use to 
the Slave, than ten in December or January. 
For those who are spendthrifts and indolent, the 
master purchases seeds and plants of various 
kinds, and attends to see that they make a proper 
use of them. On the same spot, yams, Indian 
corn, potatoes, plantains, cassado, &c. grow, 
and in succession, without each injuring the 
other, so that a very small piece of ground in 
reality, yields abundance to the negro ; the plan- 
tain in particular, is one of the most useful and 
prolific plants, that a kind Providence has in a 
warm climate bestowed upon man. " There is," 
according to Humboldt, " none which affords so 
much food from the same quantity of land as 
the plantain or banana tree, (the Reviewer is in 
a mistake, the banana and plantain are different,) 
a field of 100 square metres (1076 English 
square feet) in plantain trees, affords 4000 lbs. 
weight of food ; the same field in wheat will 
produce about 301bs., and in potatoes 901bs. 
The quantity of food from wheat, as 133 to 1, 
and to the quantity from potatoes as 44 to 1 # ." 
The description here is correct, every planta- 
tion cultivates large portions of land in plan- 

* Edinburgh Review^ vol. xix, page 183. 



267 



tains, independent of what the Slaves raise in 
their own gardens, their houses are surrounded 
and overshadowed with them; the tree grows 
from shoots, yields the fruit in nine months ; a 
bunch in new lands will supply a man with food 
for a week, regular shoots spring up in succes- 
sion, bearing fruit as the old are cut down, when 
the branch is cut off. I have given industrious 
negroes 40 dollars in the course of a few weeks 
for provisions, principally for plantains, and 
from these and various other kinds of provisions, 
they not only support themselves in abundance, 
but make a good deal of money. 

After planting with the early rains, a weeding 
or two keeps down the weeds, till the rising 
plants cover the ground ; this is nearly all the 
labour that is necessary, till the respective crops 
are ready to be gathered and taken up, when 
every assistance that is necessary, is cheerfully 
given to the Slave, to enable him to bring his 
harvest home. The corn will keep well for 
many months. Yams, more especially Guinea 
yams, a most superior food, and next to the 
plantain, and equal to our best potatoes, can be 
dug at leisure from the root, without injuring 
what remains, but rather the reverse ; fruits and 
vegetables of the finest description grow around, 
it may almost be said, spontaneously, and cer- 



268 



tainly with the least possible culture and atten- 
tion; peas, beans, ochras, callilues, oranges, 
pine apples, shaddocks, alligator pears, cover 
the face of the country — a country which no 
frosts blast, nor storms desolate. Unto all 
these things, the negroes add hogs, goats, and 
poultry innumerable. The rearing of all these 
costs them nothing, and from the sale of them 
they amass considerable sums of money, to be 
laid out in procuring superior clothes, and orna- 
ments to their houses, the comforts, and many 
of the luxuries of life. Their dwellings are 
neat, clean, and comfortable, and exhibit a pic- 
ture of comfort and good order, not to be wit- 
nessed amongst hundreds of thousands of the 
peasantry of Great Britain and Ireland.* 

* That the Slaves in our Colonies are not in the miserable state they 
are represented is evident from the money many of them are known to pos- 
sess. I have known negroes who had above 100 Joes (,£160) ready 
money ; I have heard of them who had £2400. Several are known to 
possess Slaves as is indeed shewn from the Dominica report. The pro- 
prietors of an estate in St. Vincent's writes within these few months, 
" My negroes, with the privileges allowed them, make for themselves every 
year five times the amount allowed by proprietors and farmers in Britain, 
and I could take an even bet, that many of our negroes have more ready 
money by them than any set of labouring people in the world. I shall 
state what took place on my own estate when the new coinage arrived. 
They were informed of the act and told that to save them the trouble of 
going to the treasury for exchanging the old for the new, if they 
brought it to me (others did the same) I would exchange it for them. 
They accordingly in general did so. One man had 40 dollars, and his wife 
(the wife always keeps a separate purse) 25 1 dollars ; and many of them 
8, 10, and 15 dollars each, which sums moreover are known not to be one- 



269 



Besides the country provisions and other ad- 
vantages previously enumerated, the Slaves re- 
ceive a weekly allowance of 2 lbs. of salt fish each 
— 4 lbs. of pork at Christmas and at New Year's 
day. They also receive sugar, rum, salt, flour, 
&c. when they may require these on particular 
occasions. The grown-up people receive six or 
eight yards Osnaburghs each, a hat, and either a 
jacket and trowsers, or cloth to make 1 hem. The 
head people receive great coats, double allow- 
ances of Osnaburghs, &c. a check shirt and a 
linen shirt. Women who have children receive 
extra allowances of linen shirts, checks for pet- 
ticoats, and linen for shirts to their children. 
They also receive blankets annually, pots, and 
other utensils, and materials for furniture, and 
the labour to make it is supplied by their mas- 
ters. Their houses are clean and comfortable, 
built sometimes of the Rousseau cane, but more 
generally of American boards, and thatched with 
the cane top, a most durable and excellent thatch. 
The appearance of the negroes, even at their 
work, is clean and neatly clothed ; and on festive 
occasions, and on Sundays, they appear in 

third of what they are worth. Of this I have had sure data, for some 
years ago when the Joes were called in, these very people gave me, some 
5, some 7, and one man 9 Joes. How many of your peasantry or small 
farmers in Britain could muster such sums as these?" — (St. Vincent' s % 
July 3lst, 1823.) 



270 



dresses clean and fine and gay, beyond what a 
mass of our population can wear. Permission 
is readily granted them to receive or to go and 
visit their friends, and the entertainments they 
give on such occasions are such and so expen- 
sive, and accompanied with such luxuries as 
none of the labouring population of Great 
Britain ever see or can afford. 

Such is a true and faithful picture of the state 
and condition of the Slaves in the Colonies, 
well known to every one who has seen them, or 
will take the trouble to look at them. What 
a different picture is this from that sketched, 
caricatured by the London abolition society? 
The facts do not rest upon my assertion ; they 
are all capable of proof — they have been proved. 
In every state of human society established on 
earth there will always be found some indivi- 
duals wretched and miserable. The West In- 
dies are not without such, but their misery and 
wretchedness, upon a proper and impartial in- 
vestigation, will be found to proceed from their 
own vices, and not from the despotism, severity, 
or cruelty of their masters as is constantly, er- 
roneously, and unjustly pretended. 

With regard to their being chattels in the 
eye of the law, and as such sold to pay their 
master's debts, this has ever been the case in 



271 



every country where personal Slavery lias been 
established, and while it exists it is difficult to 
see how the law can be altered. Amongst the 
Romans, Greeks, and especially among the 
Jews, this was the practice as appears from 
Isaiah, c. 50, v. 1. u Which of my creditors is 
it to whom I have sold you," says the prophet 
addressing the Israelites by command of his 
Maker. The assertion that families are separa- 
ted by sales in the West Indies is not correct. 
The greatest care is taken to prevent this from 
taking place, nor would any person buy families 
thus separated. The anxious wish of every 
master is to procure families, and hardly an in- 
stance is known where families are separated. 
The official reports from the Colonies substan- 
tiate what I state. # In reality the sales where 
families are separated are very few in number. 
Those who are liable to be thus sold chiefly are 

* The negroes have been often removed in the entire gang, from one 
plantation to another, but that has always been from a worn-out impover- 
ished soil to a new and fertile one ; and invariably with the consent of the 
negroes themselves, who are very capable of appreciating the lightened 
labour and increased advantages of such removal. No person ever thinks 
of separating families by a sale. Even when disposed of by the Marshal 
under the writ of execution, they are invariably placed in families ; and 
few persons under such circumstances would dare to propose the separa- 
tion of one of them but with the consent of the parties themselves. Nor 
do persons wish to become purchasers till they obtain the consent of the 
negroes to become their property. — St. Vincent's Report, 1823. 



272 

house servants attached to merchants and me- 
chanics, who may have been unfortunate in the 
world, or leaving the Colonies. The servants 
of the latter are generally retained in their places 
by their successors ; and those of the former are 
almost always purchased by persons in similar 
lines of life, nor do their masters' misfortunes 
change their condition or situation in life. Ne- 
groes attached to estates remain fixed to 
the estates, though these be sold, and change 
masters. A gang is never broken up without 
their own consent, and at any rate it is a circum- 
stance that very rarely happens. Slaves are 
never removed from one island to another, nor 
even from one estate to another in the same 
island, without their consent previously obtained. 
With regard to the removal from one estate to 
another in the same Colony, it is not easy to 
understand why this great lamentation should 
be made about it. Except Jamaica, few if any 
of our islands are larger than some parishes in 
the Highlands of Scotland, and in which islands 
the negroes are removed perhaps a few miles 
from their former abode — frequently not further 
than from St. PauPs to Hyde Park. Is this 
more severe than the fate of tens of thousands 
of families, who from necessity, nay even in the 



273 



common course of business, are broken up, each 
individual separated, severed to the distance of 
thousands of miles — scattered to the four winds 
of heaven, never again to meet on earth? But 
were the negroes in reality, the ignorant, de- 
graded, and brutal race which the scribe of the Afri- 
can Institution represents them to be, how little 
would their feelings be hurt or wounded upon 
separations, even did such take place? To bind 
the Slaves to the soil, would in many places, 
(such as the Bahamas and Virgin islands) be to 
bind them to poverty, misery, want, and de- 
struction. 

"The Slaves in general have little or no access to Christian in- 
struction." 

How men, with the hallowed name of Christi- 
anity on their lips, should thus violate the first 
of its precepts, by bringing against their bre- 
thren a charge so manifestly unjust and untrue, 
must be left to their own consciences and others 
to determine. If they do it through ignorance 
they are blameable, because they need not want 
information — if they do it with a knowledge that 
the reverse is the fact, I pity and forgive them. 
There is no Colony in the West Indies at this mo- 
ment, in which, besides the regular established 
clergy of the church of England, there is not a very 
considerable number of missionaries, Moravians 



274 



and others, and every encouragement given to 
them in every quarter, provided they are men of 
probity and worth. In Grenada, there are, at this 
moment, four missionaries, two clergymen of 
the Episcopalian communion, and one Roman 
Catholic priest, to a negro population of 26,000, 
all Roman Catholics, which gives more reli- 
gious instructors, in proportion to the popula- 
tion, than is to be found in many parts of Great 
Britain. In many islands — in Trinidad — in St. 
Vincent's, and other places, the number is equally 
great, and 1 do add, and challenge this Society, 
one or all of its members, to contradict me when 
I say, that in every place these teachers of re- 
ligion, while they confine themselves to teaching 
the true principles of Christianity, are not only not 
obstructed, but encouraged and made welcome; 
and further, that both resident and non-resident 
proprietors are joining together in getting and 
sending out clergymen to instruct their negroes, 
independent of those sent out by religious 
societies in this country. A cry has been 
raised in this country about the obstructions 
which missionaries met with in some of the islands. 
The fact is, that most improper and dangerous 
men were employed for that purpose, who pro- 
ceeded in such a manner that, in some cases, 
says the Corporation of Kingston, in an ordi- 



275 

nance, " the minds of Slaves have been so ope- 
rated upon and affected by the fanaticism of ig- 
norant, illiterate, uneducated men, false enthu- 
siasts, as to become totally deranged/' — (Par- 
liamentary 'Proceedings, 1815, p. 105.) "Some 
of the Dissenting missionaries" (says Stewart) 
" sent out were low ignorant men, who perhaps 
did more harm than good by their instructions, 
if they might be so called. Instead of incul- 
cating the plain practical duties which Christi- 
anity enjoins, they expatiated on topics alto- 
gether incomprehensible by their ignorant auditors 
— as the new birth, grace, election, and the 
utter in efficacy of mere good works to recom- 
mend them to the favour of the Almighty. They 
became, in consequence of the fanatical cant of 
these pretended preachers, more hypocritical, 
more assuming, more regardful of outward ap- 
pearances, less cheerful, and lively, full of a fa- 
natic gloom bordering on melancholy, and less 
attentive to the affairs of their families or the 
interest of their owners. I know a poor elderly 
negro woman, who had always been remarkable 
for cheerfulness, alacrity, and an animated at- 
tention to herself and her family, suddenly, from 
an over zealous attendance on a mulatto preacher, 
sink into a gloomy listlessness and despondency. 
She neglected herself, she neglected her family, 

t2 



276 

she would not . even exert herself to provide for 
the most obvious and urgent wants ; and when 
reproved for it, the poor creature would reply, 
with a piteous look and whining tone, " The 
Lord would help his servant," (pages 282 and 
283.) For opposing men like these, the cha- 
racters of the West India Colonists have been 
loaded with opprobrium and reproach, and they 
have been held up as infidels and monsters. 
Principles more dangerous than those which 
have been noticed, and more destructive to the 
happiness of the negroes, could not well be in- 
culcated amongst them. 

As religion is a point much dwelt upon by the 
calumniators of the Colonies, and is a subject al- 
ways had recourse to, in order to irritate the 
Mother Country against the Colonies, and as 
the charge here made is of the most sweeping 
and unqualified nature, it becomes necessary 
to pay a little more attention to it than it 
otherwise would deserve. 

It would extend these pages to an inconveni- 
ent length to notice every point • but from Par- 
liamentary Papers I select the following official 
returns of the Religious Instructors in the West 
Indies, 10 years ago, remarking that since that 
period they have been greatly increased. 

Barbadoes, eleven Rectors — population about 90,000 — Churches in 
perfect repair— divine service performed in a proper manner— the clergy 



277 



as a body, highly respectable. {Parliamentary Proceedings, 1815.) There 
are also a number of missionaries on this island. Nevis — Three esta- 
blished clergymen and one missionary — Population, 8000 Slaves. St. 
Christopher's — Five Established clergymen, three Moravians, four Me- 
thodist missionaries — twelve to a population of 17,788 Slaves. Antigua 
— Five Established clergymen, three from the West India Society, four 
teachers of the United Brethren, and two Wesleyan teachers — fourteen, 
to a population of 35,000. Jamaica* — 42 Established clergymen, three 
Roman Catholic priests, in Kingston — one Presbyterian clergyman, and 
a very considerable number of missionaries ; and the West India Society 
have four. " In Tobago," says Sir W. Young, " several negro children 
are brought every Sunday to christen. I am informed that on most 
estates there are many negroes who have been christened, and many who 
can repeat the Lord's Prayer, Belief, and the Ten Commandments f. In 
Grenada, St. Vincent's, St. Lucia, and Dominica, the negroes are almost 
all rigid Roman Catholics. Of the religious establishment of Trinidad 
Sir Ralph Woodford^ in his Letter to Earl Bathurst says, " A return 
is given of one Protestant minister, and eight Catholic priests ; and Mr. 
Clapham states the arrival of several missionaries in the island since the 
conflagration of Port of Spain, in 1803." On an estate where I lived, 
generally every evening, always every Sunday morning and Sunday even- 
ing, the Slaves publicly said prayers and sang hymns (not the worse, it 
is presumed, because these were sung and said in French,) and every 
evening the young children regularly did the same. 

* There are only 31 at present resident. 

t " In these islands, the Slave population does not amount to twelve 
thousand souls ; and we have two clergymen of the Church of England, 
a Presbyterian minister, five indefatigable Wesleyan missionaries, and 
other licensed preachers, among which are four blacks, three of whom 
are Baptist's, and one in charge of a chapel, where he performs Divine 
Service according to the forms of the Church of England. The oppor- 
tunities of religious instruction in our principal settlements, accordingly 
,are numerous, nor are our plantations altogether without them. There 
are, as we have already suggested, few, if any, even of our field Slaves, 
who do not profess Christianity. And although the interest which our 
Slave-holders take in the religious improvement of their Slaves, naturally 
varies with the respective opinions and habits of the former, we can con- 
fidently assert, that no obstacle whatsoever is at this time opposed, on 
any of our plantations or elsewhere, to the dissemination of religioui, 
'Joctrines among the latter."— (Bahama Report, 1823.) 



278 



Nor is thii all. In the year 1794, a Society of West India Gentlemen - , 
under the patronage of the Bishop of London, erected themselves into a 
society to propagate religious instruction amongst the Slaves. Their 
proceedings lie before me, and they state that though their funds are 
doubled these are inadequate to meet the demands on them — M the letters 
from the gentlemen employed by them in the West Indies bear tes- 
timony to the awakening spirit which manifesting itself around them 
in favour of the communication of Christianity to the negroes, and of the 
growing disposition to encourage the conversion to that holy religion," — 
and this spirit is not confined to " private individuals, but is honourably 
manifested by those invested with the highest authority in the islands." 

At the very last meeting of this society, besides liberal subscriptions 
from individuals, gentlemen connected with the West Indies, a most 
munificent donation of <£1000 was received by the Society from the ge- 
neral fund of the West India merchants and planters in the city of London. 

So much for the daring assertion that the 
Slaves in our Colonies have u little or no reli- 
gious instruction." On such a sacred subject, 
truth might have been adhered to. The depar- 
ture from it requires no comment to point out 
the cruel nature of such conduct. 

" Marriage, that blessing of civilized and even of savage life, is pro- 
tected in the case of Slaves by no legal sanction. It cannot be said 
to exist among them. They are still denied the blessings of the mar- 
riage tie." 

I have seldom met with more consummate ig- 
norance, and more deliberate falsehood and mis- 
representation. Where, I ask, is it that savages 
enjoy the blessings of the marriage tie ? Is it 
amongst K our African Brethren" whose chiefs 
Mr. Macaulay informs us, " engross all the 
women" — in Africa, where polygamy is univer- 
sal, and any thing like a permanent union 
betwixt the sexes is unknown amongst all ranks 



279 

and classes of the population? That they are 
denied the marriage tie in our Colonies, is posi- 
tively denied. The clergymen in the Wind- 
ward Islands, and I believe also in Jamaica, are 
obliged by law to marry, and to baptize their 
children without fee, whenever called upon so 
to do by either master or Slave. But that either 
the master or the clergyman should compel them 
to marry, or use the authority vested in a master 
to command them to do so, is a proposition so 
monstrous and so absurd (yet the writer means 
this or he means nothing, and his charge falls 
to the ground;) that no human being but this 
champion of virtue, would ever for a moment 
have thought of it. The Slaves in our Co- 
lonies have the same " legal sanction" for the 
marriage tie, if they choose to enter into that 
state, that every person in Britain has. Some 
of them marry, and lead very regular lives — but 
the multitude continue to content themselves with 
such marriage ties as the " savage state" affords, 
and amongst these, " our African brethren * are 
decidedly the most profligate and the worst. Their 
example contaminates generations of Creoles. 
No one regrets this mode of life more than 
their master. Knowledge and intelligence must 
first be diffused amongst the progeny of Africans, 
so inveterately accustomed to polygamy ; before 
they can or will be bound by the marriage tie. 



280 



This is a subject, however, in which the Slaves 
consider themselves as beyond their master's 
controul, and not amenable to his authority. 
To attempt to bind the African part of them by 
marriage, would produce the most terrific de- 
moralization. After the fashion of their own 
country many of them live regular lives*, but 
the restraint of being bound to each other is, 
generally speaking, impracticable and idle to 

* Innumerable proofs might be adduced in support of this fact. But 
the following from the Grenada Gazette, of the 18th October last, is 
deemed sufficient, and proves that the negro Slaves do not live, as it is 
asserted they do live, " like brutes" 

" Died lately, upon Lower Latante Estate, at the advanced age of 85 
years, Susan, a Slave born upon, and belonging to that property. She 
was followed to the grave by upwards of two hundred relatives, of 
which number fifty-six were her immediate descendants, viz : two 
sons, two daughters ; nine grandsons, ten grand-daughters ; fifteen great- 
grandsons, fifteen great grand-daughters ; and three great great grand- 
daughters." 

" One of the charges most gravely urged against the Colonies is, instead 
©f encouraging marriages among the Slaves, a promiscuous intercourse 
of the sexes is even worse than tolerated ; and a general denunciation of 
lewdness is brought against all the drivers, all the book-keepers — every 
man, black or white, in fact, employed upon West India plantations. This 
is a subject upon which the venerable Mr. Wilberforce appears to be pe- 
culiarly sensitive. It recurs nine or ten times, if not oftener, in his Ap- 
peal (pages 16, 18, & 20, and as respects managers, overseers, pages 21, 
22, 23, 28, 32, 53, et passim.) To all this we have the same answer as 
before, namely, that there is no truth in the accusation, so far as respects 
these islands. It rarely happens among us, that adult negroes are un- 
married; and without fear of contradiction we assert, that pains are taken 
and generally with success, throughout the islands, to promote early mar- 
■ riages among the Slaves. We had not to consult the oracle of the African 
Institute, to know that the marriage state affords perhaps the best security 
for sobriety and steadiness among our people." (Bahama Report.) 



281 



attempt. I have heard of its having been at- 
tempted to engage uneducated Slaves in the 
bonds of marriage. In a few weeks they were 
broken through^and the missionary and master, 
by what authority I know not, separated, divorced, 
and re-married the parties. We may shudder to 
contemplate such scenes as these ; but every 
premature attempt to enforce such obligations, 
must be productive of similar results # . 

* The 13th and 14th Sections of the Slave Act, says the legislature of 
St. Vincent's, shew the anxiety of the Legislature to produce permanent 
connections of the sexes, and the beneficial results to be expected there- 
from — They provide, " That for every infant Slave which shall be born 
within these islands, and shall survive three weeks, the midwife and nurse 
shall each be entitled to receive one dollar, and if there should be no 
nurse in attendance, the midwife shall be entitled to demand and receive 
two dollars ; and upon every infant Slave attaining the age of fifteen 
months, the mother thereof shall be entitled to demand and receive six 
dollars ; and upon every such infant being incorporated in the grass or 
vine gang, the mother, or person nursing the infant, shall be entitled to 
demand and receive the further sum of two dollars; the said several 
premiums or sums of money shall in the first instance be paid by the 
owner or owners, or person or persons having the direction of the said 
Slaves, but shall be deducted by him or them so paying the same from 
the public taxes, which shall become due and payable by the owner or 
owners, possessor or possessors, of the said Slaves, next after the pay- 
ment by him or them of the said several sums of money, and the amount 
thereof charged by the Treasurer against the public" — And 

' ' That every female Slave who shall have six children living, or who 
having raised from infancy and during the period of nurture, a child or 
children of deceased mothers, and which shall continue to live with her 
as her adopted child or children shall have of her own and of such so 
raised and adopted child or children six children living, shall only be em- 
ployed in light labour in the field or otherwise ; and the owner or pos- 
sessor of every such female Slave, shall be exempted from all manner of 



282 



The Parliamentary returns, and the authority 
of the Rev. Mr. Brydges, are decisive upon the 
charge made by the anti-colonists, that u the mar- 
riage tie is denied" to the Slaves in our Colonies. 
This charge, says the latter, page 22, "I positively 
contradict, by stating, that I have myself married 
one hundred and eighty-seven couple of negro 
Slaves in my own parish (Manchester), within 

taxes for such female Slave, any thing in the Act commonly called the 
Poll-Tax Act or any other Tax-Acts of these islands passed or annually 
to he passed to the contrary notwithstanding ; and a deduction shall be 
made for all such female Slaves, from the taxes of such owner or pos- 
sessor, on the certificate of the justice,, taking the annual returns that 
proof was given upon oath to his satisfaction, not only that the requisite 
number of children, together with the mother or adopted mother are 
living, but also that the mother had been employed only in light field or 
other labour, and was provided with the means of an easy and comfort- 
able maintenance." 

To this last clause it may be added as matter of fact, that the usage of 
the Colony goes further than the strict letter of the law would require, for 
women with six children are never required to perform even " light labour 
in the field, or otherwise" for their masters. They are, to all intents, free 
persons, with the exception that they are not allowed to remove themselves 
from their families or the plantation ; but for any purpose of the master, 
their names are never called but to receive their allowance of provisions 
and clothing. — Such women are rendered more happy than they ever 
would be in the enjoyment of freedom in the common acceptation of the 
term. In addition to this allowance of food and cloathing, they are pro- 
vided with alarge and comfortable house to enable them to have their child- 
ren around them. They may be said to have a life-estate in as much land 
as they can cultivate. A medical man must attend them in their hours 
of sickness, and they know they have in reversion a comfortable pro- 
vision for their day of old age and imbecility. Do these things weigh 
nothing in the scale of human comfort and happiness?" (Official 
Report.) 



283 



the last two years, all of whom were encouraged 
by their owners to marry. In another parish, 
St. Thomas in the East, I have reason to know, 
that there have been three times that number 
married during the incumbency of the present 
Rector, Mr. Trew ; 9 and at page 27, he adds, 
" during my residence in this parish, I have ac- 
tually baptized 9,413 negro Slaves, many of 
whom attend church ; some have learnt the 
Lord's Prayer and ten commandments, &c. # " 
By the returns in Parliamentary paper, No. 347, 
p. 3, of last Session," which returns His Grace 
the Duke of Manchester informs us, u were in 
an imperfect state;" we, nevertheless, learn 
that during the last 14 years, 3,590 marriages 
of Slaves had taken place in Jamaica by the re- 
gular clergy, independent of the numbers married 
by the missionaries. In their resolutions lately 
passed, the inhabitants of the parish of St. 
Thomas in the Vale, state that " in that parish 
the whole body of the Slaves were initiated into 
the knowledge of Christianity, and that within 
the last six years, seventeen hundred couple 
had been married therein." 

No sooner were these facts published in Bri- 
tain, than the abolition committee attacked them 
and their authors with the utmost virulence, and 

* " Voice from Jamaica" 



284 



asserted that the whole had been got up upon 
the spur of the moment to deceive the people of 
the mother country. The official Parliamentary 
return alluded to, however, negatives in the 
completest manner, the disgraceful charge. 
That return was moved for in the House of 
Commons, August 3d 1822, transmitted by the 
Duke of Manchester, March 17th 1823; and 
from that paper the following account of the 
marriages of Slaves in Kingston, from 1808 to 
1823 is selected. 

Marriages of Slaves, Kingston. 

1808 20 1813 40 1818 140 

1809 8 1814 78 1819 180 

1810 21 1815 126 1820 167 

1811 10 1816 129 1821 155 

1812 19 1817 134 1822 121 

Shewing first, a regular increase and next 
falsifying, in the completest manner, the charges 
that marriages were got up on this occasion to 
impose upon the people of Great Britain, for 
the whole — I say the whole, of those enumerated, 
were solemnized before the people of Great 
Britain had made any inquiry about them. 

The number of marriages solemnized in Ja- 
maica, during 14 years, in proportion to its po- 
pulation, is next sneered at. Be it so — but if 
3,590 marriages were solemnized, three hundred 
thousand or three millions might have been so- 



285 



lemnized, had it been required. This fact is 
sufficient to disprove the charge, that "the mar- 
riage tie is denied" to West India Slaves. 

" In consequence" of this want of, or denial of the marriage tie, " the 
most unrestrained licentiousness — degrading, disgusting and promiscuous 
intercoui'se universally prevails amongst the Slaves, encouraged by the 
example of the whites." 

It seems to be the failing of this writer, (but 
whether from ignorance or design I know not) to 
pervert the facts of every subject which he touches. 
The licentiousness here proclaimed is produced, 
not by the want of the marriage tie, but the 
want of the marriage tie is produced by the li- 
centiousness. That there is more licentiousness 
than should be in the West Indies, I do not 
mean to deny, but I must beg leave to ask — Is 
there no licentiousness, no degrading, disgusting, 
promiscuous intercourse between the sexes in 
Great Britain, and other places of her dominions 
—none in India — none in Africa, that paradise of 
innocence and peace ? Is it all confined to the 
West Indies? No! And while a London Society, 
if they were to take their stand in Fleet Street or 
Cranbourne Alley, would in one hour in any even- 
ing see more disgusting public scenes of licen- 
tiousness, vice, misery, and degradation, than 
they could perceive, I aver it, in twelvemonths, in 
all the West India Colonies: I marvel why 



286 



they should heed home so little, and look 
abroad so much. In the West Indies I utterly 
deny that licentiousness and immorality exist to 
the extent that those hideous caricatures, dashed 
off by the anti-colonial writers or Societies in this 
country, exhibit to the world. Neither bond nor 
free are so degraded, nor do we there see those 
scenes of misery and crime, which are so often 
witnessed in this country, as the consequences 
of the violation of the laws of virtue. One thing 
is, besides, abundantly plain, that the whites in 
the West Indies, do not " engross all the wo- 
men to themselves," as Mr. Macaulay says, our 
African brethren, do. The licentious lives, and 
promiscuous intercourse between the sexes, said 
to prevail amongst the Slaves, prove at least, 
that they are not in the Colonies, as Mr. Ma- ... 
caulay informs us they are in Africa, " com 
pelled to lead solitary lives" for want of 
females; and consequently by the shewing of 
their calumniators, the whites in the West Indies 
are not quite such tyrants as the African chiefs, 
or the Indian Brahmins, who keep their (female) 
Slaves, at the extent of a long pole from them, 
nor the Slaves in our Colonies so oppressed, or 
their affections so restrained as those in Africa 
by, (be it always remembered,) " our free Afri- 
can brethren." There are moreover people in 



287 



the Colonies, both white and black, whose cha- 
racter and conduct would not lose by compari- 
son with any in the Mother Country. I do not 
know of any thing that more completely prevents 
the blessings of marriage being extended a- 
mong the whites, than the frantic meddling of 
certain Societies in this country with the politi- 
cal state of society in the Colonies, which ren- 
ders it so insecure and dangerous, that few white 
men can wish to have wives and families exposed 
to the horrors that may overtake them. 

Whatever has been said and asserted to the 
contrary, the Slaves, or the forefathers of the 
Slaves, in our Colonies, are as much the out- 
casts of Africa, and dregs of its rude population, 
as the population of New Holland is the dregs 
of the population of this country. Let us, there- 
fore, pause and consider for a moment what the 
population of our West India Colonies in gene- 
ral is, namely, either the dregs of the rudest 
savages and barbarians on earth, or else the im- 
mediate descendants of these, and when we bear 
that fact in mind, we shall not only cease to 
wonder that ignorance and licentiousness pre- 
vail among them, but rather feel surprise that 
they are improved to the extent they are. It 
cannot be denied that the Creole Slave really is, 
and looks upon himself as much superior to the 



288 



African negro as the most intelligent and en- 
lightened persons in this country, stand in point 
of intellect, above the Creole Slaves in the 
West Indies. 

We hear everlasting lamentations about our 
African brethren doomed to Slavery in the West 
Indies without being told exactly what kind of 
brethren these are. Some of them are canni- 
bals like that man whom the intelligent whites 
at Sierra Leone tried by a Jury of whites and 
the English law, for killing and eating one of 
his countrymen, and who declared in court, that 
he had a great desire to eat one of the white 
jurymen — really, like those men whom A dams in 
his account of the African coast, describes, as 
follows: — 

" A considerable "portion of the negroes, obtained at Carneroons and 
Gaboon, are a miserable race of beings, and held in but little estimation 
in the West Indies. They appear to be in the descending link in the 
great animal chain, which connects man with the Ourang-outang. Their 
foreheads are short, oval, and receding ; eyes close together ; noses 
scarcely above the level of the cheeks ; mouths wide and projecting ; re- 
ceding chins ; hair thinly sown, soft, and woolly ; narrow chests, long 
bodies, abdomen protuberant, short lower extremities, and long arms, legs 
without calves, and long feet. They have poor constitutions, &c." 

The licentious manners of the population of Africa, is perfectly noto- 
rious, and no human being but the champion of the African Society, could 
for a moment suppose, that, for many generations, a mass of them could be 
brought to consider chastity a virtue. Polygamy is universal. The 
chiefs and free people, as Mr.HVIacaulay plaintively informs us, " ingross 
all the women" and of the nature of that polygamy and " promiscuous, 
depopulating intercourse," a short account, and upon a moderate scale, 



289 



Is subjoined from the authority just quoted. — " At Warree (Bight of 
Benin) and other parts, polygamy is common; and the number of wives 
which the black monarch had exceeded sixty ; for such I judged to be 
the number, as one day in my rambles I inadvertently peeped into the 
royal seraglio; and here indeed were queens actively employed in all the 
duties and embellishments of domestic life, from the toilette to the wash- 
ing-tub. And as we often hear of b kings being (allegorically) called the 
fathers of their people, the extraordinary fact seemed to be verified in old 
King Ottoo's person ; as from the number of children in this establish- 
ment, it would be no great stretch of imagination to fancy the population 
of Warree to have been principally of his own creation." Such a sovereign 
as this, however, cannot well be ranked amongst the monsters, the 
scourge and terror of the human race, and he would therefore cer- 
tainly escape, in Mr. Stephen's contemplated — recommended, general 
massacre.* 

Reader, those and such as those, nay the 
very refuse of such a population, are our African 
brethren, which at different times have been 
brought to people our West India Colonies. Can 
their manners be reformed in a day ? and as vice 
and ignorance bring poverty, disease and misery 

* " In Africa we have, indeed, these savage monsters, who, under the 
title of sovereigns, render themselves the scourges of the human race ; 
for what stronger example of such cases can be imagined, than that of 
chiefs who tear their unhappy innocent people from their houses and 
families, and sell them as cattle to foreign merchants, to be carried 
into a perpetual and cruel bondage far from their native land. — 
The monsters," the writer repeats with Grotius, " who, under the title of 
sovereigns, render themselves the scourges and horror of tbe human race, 
they are savage beasts whom every man may justly exterminate from the 
earth. All antiquity has praised Hercules for delivering the world from 
an Antaeus, a Busiris, and a Diomede." (Slave Trade of Spain in North- 
ern Africa, pages 31 and 45. ) Well, let us leave Mr. James Stephen, 
Hercules, Antceus) Busiris, Diomede, and the Kings of Dahomey and 
Ashantec, to meet and settle this business. 

U 



290 

in this country, upon all addicted to them, 
cannot it be for a moment supposed, when a 
newly-arrived or passing European, sees wretch- 
ed looking negroes, that this wretchedness 
proceeds from their own vicious habits and 
pursuits, instead of proceeding from the cruelty 
and neglect of their masters In ninety-nine 
cases out of one hundred, inquiry would ascer- 
tain this to be the fact. 

But really it is most unfair to charge all the 
licentiousness of the Colonies upon the native 
inhabitants, when it is recollected what characters 
are imported into them from Great Britain. I will 
tell the society a tale, which it is surprising none 
of their correspondents have told them, or if told, 
that it has not, like other West India wicked- 
ness, been made public. Truth they know is a 
libel, and I have no wish to come under the 
penalty of the law. Yet I shall be able, with- 
out coming into a court, to make some of them 
comprehend me. By the influence of an insti- 
tution in this country, an English lawyer was 

sent as a to a West India Colony. He 

took a fancy to a young Mestee girl in her teens. 
The mother was a prudent woman. Two prime 
Slaves were the price of her daughter's virtue. 
" Eager love, says Jupiter, admits of no delay." 
A ship amongst the last vessels engaged in the 



291 



Slave trade lay in the roads. Two stout fellows of 
our u poor Pagan African brethren 1 '' were pur- 
chased, and, by a formal conveyance, drawn by the 
high donor, made over to the mother. I remem- 
ber very well, while mulattoes tittered, negroes 
stared, and white men cried shame, seeing the 
bridal palanquin which bore the bride, with those 
marriage ties which form the peculiar blessing of 
" the savage state," going past the parson's door, 
to the house of the impatient Buckra, where for 
two days and two nights, (not so long as M ah onl- 
ine d laboured with the black-eyed Mary) the 
parties remained secluded. Some time after, 
this personage quitted that Colony for another 
— leaving it also, he returned to the former. His 
love was cooled. A flaw, I cannot possibly 
suppose intentionally made, was discovered in 
the conveyance of the two negroes. They were 
taken back and sold to another person. Yet 
this man was a loud declaimer against Slavery 
and the Slave trade, and what is more, he has 
been held up {ignorantly no doubt) by the fa- 
thers of the abolition in this country, as a par- 
ragon of humanity and virtue. 

If the Parliamentary Commissioners now in the 
Colonies, inquiring into legal abuses, are com- 
missioned to look after such subjects, the above 
will perhaps not be found a solitary instance. 

u2 



292 

" It is an universal principle in Colonial law, that all black or coloured 
persons are presumed and taken to be Slaves in consequence of which, 
iniquitous law, as it is called, these persons are liable to be apprehended 
as " run-away Slaves," and sold into endless bondage, — " though perhaps 
born in Great Britain itself." In this/way " their liberty is often greatly 
endangered, and sometimes lost — if they fail to establish their freedom by 
»uch evidence as the Colonial laws require." 

We are not aware that Great Britain pro- 
duces blacks. Colour is, and in our Colonies 
must be held as a presumption that the man is a 
Slave, when he appears as a vagrant, and can 
give no reasonable account whence he came, and 
whither he is going, or reference to any one con- 
cerning his condition. In such cases, and in such 
cases only, are any black or coloured persons 
called upon to give an account of themselves. 
Oh ! but these are obsolete laws, and man may 
do so ? Man may do strange things. There are 
laws in our statute books by which the Lord Ad- 
vocate may send the people of Scotland to jail at 
and during his pleasure. But does he do so? And 
I could point out prisons in this country where 
men, guilty of no crime, and committed without 
any examination, languish for want of bail 
which they could not possibly procure, till they 
are " heard." But because it may be done, it does 
not follow that any free man has been or can 
be sold as a Slave under that presumption. 
The person apprehended upon that supposition 



293 



suffers no greater restraint than vagrants do in 
this country, who cannot give an account of 
themselves. The evidence the Colonial laws re- 
quire is very simple. Any credible witness, 
black or white, saying that they know the man 
to be free, saves any one from any further 
trouble. Every free man has his freedom regis- 
tered in the registry of the Colony to which he 
belongs, and if he has it not with him, or if he is 
born of free parents, he can without difficulty 
procure evidence of these things, should he have 
come away from one island to another where he 
was totally unknown, without introductions, 
which is not likely. Any man claiming the 
labour of a negroe, who says he is free, 
must prove his title to him — prove it against the 
immediate power of the crown, in this case the 
guardian, protector, and defender # ; and if the 

* About 150 years ago, an African Slave ship was wrecked on the Mus- 
quito shore. The negroes escaped into the interior and mixed with the 
native Indians. Some time after this the early British settlers reduced 
some of these people into Slavery by force or by purchase. Complaints 
were made to the Governor and Legislature of Jamaica, that people en- 
titled to their freedom had been made Slaves. — Inquiry was instituted, 
and some individuals were emancipated, but numerous applications con- 
tinuing to be made by others, and it being extremely difficult to deter- 
mine the descendants of the Slaves so wrecked, from those imported into 
the Colony, the Legislature of Jamaica passed an Act, in 1741, directing 
those persons then owned as Slaves in Honduras, to be considered thence- 
forth as such ; but at the same time forbidding, in the most expres* 



294 



writer in question would attend to common 
sense, the very fact, that colour is a pre- 
terms, the Colonists to have any thing more to do either with the native 
Indians, the mixed race or descendants of the Slaves formerly wrecked. 

Thus matters stood till within these few years, when, during the Gover- 
norship of Col. Arthur, in 1821 and 1822, some of the descendants of 
those people made Slaves at the remote period mentioned, claimed their 
freedom. A commission was appointed by government to examine into 
their claims, and by their report and the decision of the courts there, 
eighteen persons were declared entitled to their freedom, and obtained it. 
In some of the cases the claimants acquiesced— but others have on strong 
grounds appealed to the King and Council, and what decision may be 
there given it is not for me to anticipate. 

The papers connected with these proceedings were printed by order of 
the House of Commons, on the 16th June last, and now lie before me. 
They completely negative the assertion made by Mr. Stephen, that any 
black or coloured man may be taken up and sold as a Slave " even with 
his manumission in his hand" without there being any law to afford them 
protection or redress. These facts are not only altogether kept out of 
view by the enemies of the Colonies ; but Mr. Buxton and Mr. Wilber- 
force, in the House of Commons, only a few days before it adjourned 
last year, as well as all their scribes who touch upon the subject, speak 
as if those things were the events of yesterday. This is a most unjust, 
ungenerous, and disingenuous mode of proceeding, and not only so, but 
they keep out of sight every extenuating circumstance. But let the Go- 
vernment Commissioners speak for themselves. 

" The Commissioners, however, notwithstanding this explicit declara- 
tion in favour of the Indians, do feel themselves bound to declare, 
that such are the extenuating circumstances under which they have been 
long held in bondage, as greatly, if not entirely, to exculpate their 
present possessors ; and therefore that it would be unjust, except in some 
few cases, wherein it might be both just and proper, to charge upon them 
what might be considered inadequate and equitable indemnification." — 
{Parliamentary Paper , No. 457, Session, 1823.) 

So much for the accurate statements of the African Institution, who 
seem to make it a continued practice either to conceal or misrepresent 
truth, or substitute some falsification of it in every thing connected 
with our West India Colonies. 



295 



sumption of Slavery, will operate to deter any 
man from either selling or buying a uegroe who 
may turn out to be the property of another man, 
who could make him pay most severely for de- 
priving him of it. Numerous negroes who are 
really Slaves pass in our Colonies as free men 
on that very account. Every negroe when he 
absconds states himself to be free, and a quicker 
mode cannot be conceived by which emancipa- 
tion would be effected, than by that counselled 
and contended for by the author of the registry 
bill some years ago, that every negro or person 
of colour found in any Colony who said he was 
free should be considered as such, unless some 
one in that Colony could prove he was a Slave. 
This rule of Colonial law, in fact, cannot be 
dispensed with while Slaves are held in them. 
It does also seem not a little singular that such 
an accusation so often refuted, should now 
be re-iterated against the Colonies, without a 
shadow of proof, particularly when the register 
bill is in full force, in which the name and des- 
cription of every Slave in every Colony is accu- 
rately entered, so that no man can have any 
difficulty in finding out who are Slaves and who 
are free. If what this writer and his co-adjutors 
say were true, there could not be a free person of 
colour in our Colonies ; and the very fact that 



296 

there are many, and these multiplying fast, in 
all our Colonies, is a convincing proof of the 
falsehood of the insinuation and of the injustice of 
the charge here brought forward. Mr. Stewart 
(page 333) says that from 10,000, the number 
in Jamaica in 1788, they had multiplied in 1821 
to 35,000. Could this possibly be the case 
if every person, with a coloured skin, were 
therefore liable to be sold as a Slave, or, as 
Mr. Stephen, in u Reasons for a Registry," p. 65, 
says, to be " sold with his manumisson in his 

HAND." 

When we are told the fact, u that many thou- 
sands of infants are annually born in our West 
India Colonies," we must be permitted to remark 
that it is no proof of unbounded promiscuous 
intercourse, and when it is added that the mu- 
lattoes increase so rapidly from the connections 
of white and coloured persons with blacks, we 
observe some proof of concubinage, but none 
of a promiscuous intercourse, and each fact 
shews us an increasing population.^ From 
this cause, however, the writer states, that 

* In farther refutation of the charges of universal depravity, and the 
general " licentiousness, disgusting, depopulating, and promiscuous in- 
tercourse between the sexes," asserted to prevail with unbounded license 
in these Colonies, I adduce from authentic and official returns the fol- 
lowing comparison and reference :— Births 



297 



" even now in the British Colonies there is no 
increase of Slaves ; but, on the contrary, there 
is a diminution of their numbers," This is a 
most incorrect and partial statement. It is 
not true that the decrease is general. On 
many estates there is an increase. In Barba- 
does and several of the old islands there is an 
increase; and in Jamaica, says Mr. Stewart, 
page 231, u there are noiv few plantations 
who have not an increase of Slaves." The 
reason of a decrease, where such is to be found, 
is very evident to those who will take the trouble 
to trace it to the right source. The cause is the 
great inequality of the sexes, which at the ori- 
ginal importation was perhaps in proportion of 

Births in Glasgow, 1822, - - - - Males 1573 
Do. do. do. - - - - Females 1399 

Total 2972 

Population say 147,000. 
(Cleland's Mortality Bill.) 
Births — Antigua, baptised infants 

slaves, 1817, Males 399 

Do. do. do. Females 374 

Total 773 

Population 28,800. 
Parliamentary Paper , No. 89, Session 1823. 
So that, compared with the numher of the population in the respective 
places, it appears that there are more children by one-fifth horn in the 
Old West India Islands inhabited by Creole Slaves than there are in Glas- 
gow, and that consequently by the mode of reckoning adopted by Lon- 
don Societies, the Slaves in Antigua are less licentious and more moral 
than the people in Glasgow. 



298 



eight males to two females. Most of these also 
were grown up people, being most in demand 
for immediate labour, who consequently, in 
course of nature died off without leaving a pro- 
portionate progeny. The great inequality in the 
sexes, arose from the circumstance that the 
greater number of the Slaves were prisoners 
taken in war, and persons, (males chiefly) sold for 
crimes, such as witchcraft, adultery, &c. It is 
quite evident therefore that some generations 
must succeed before the sexes can become 
equal. As soon as this shall be the case and 
the African polygamists shall be extinct, and 
their example no longer operative, (as is the 
case in the old Colonies, where few negroes 
have been imported for the last 50 years, as 
well as on old settled estates in the other Colo- 
nies) — then, the numbers will be kept up and 
increase, but not till then. We must also take 
into account that savages learn the vices of 
civilized life before they learn its virtues, and 
that the former prove most destructive to them. 
This is the true and simple history of the de- 
crease of the annual diminution in the Slave 
population in some of our Colonies ; and these 
the reasons why it will soon cease, and be fol- 
lowed by an increase. The comparison with 
the United States is neither fair nor just, be- 



299 



cause these States still import Slaves, and where 
the numbers increase as in some of the new 
States, that increase chiefly arises from the 
transfer of Slaves from other States. 

" In none of the Colonies of Great Britain have these legal facilities 
been afforded to the Slave to purchase his own freedom, which have pro- 
duced such extremely beneficial effects in the Colonies of Spain and Por- 
tugal, where the Slaves have been manumitted in large numbers. On 
the contrary, in many of our Colonies even the voluntary manumission 
of Slaves by their masters is obstructed, and in some rendered nearly im- 
possible, BY LARGE FINES." 

Truth, it would appear, cannot be told by this 
writer when he can affirm any thing else. What 
these obstructions to manumissions and these 
large fines in our Colonies to prevent them are, 
in point of fact, the reader shall judge. A mas- 
ter manumitting his Slave, was obliged to pay 
into the Colonial treasury a sum of money va- 
rying from i?100 to ^500, according to the law 
of the different Colonies, from which sum, from 
the time of its being paid till the day of the death 
of the manumitted person, he received from 6 
to 20 per cent, per annum as a provision in 
case of sickness or misfortune. In Jamaica a 
bond is required, in the penalty of £100 cur- 
rency, for an annuity of £10 per annum, in the 
contingency of the manumitted person becoming, 
at any future time, a charge on the parish. This 
provision was called for to prevent masters from 
manumitting aged, diseased, and infirm Slaves, 



300 



and leaving them friendless and a burden on the 
community. Such was the intention of the laws 
and regulations mentioned, where these existed ; 
and I challenge the Society to deny the fact. 
The clamours of the African Institution got 
those laws repealed inmost of our Colonies # , 
and the consequence is, that Slaves may now be 
manumitted at no expense, and nothing prevents 

* " Here is no stamp requked — no bond to be given, and the very act of 
recording guards against the loss. The only fees exacted are such as the 
public officers appointed by government at home take for recording the 
deed of manumission. The eases are rare, and indeed it may be said they 
have not occurred, where a Slave with the pecuniary means of obtaining 
his freedom has not found the parties, as well as the laws, to bend to the 
attainment of his wishes. But the instances are frequent where Slaves 
are known to possess money sufficient to redeem themselves and families, 
without evincing the least disposition to make such an use of their pro- 
perty. Indeed it often happens that negroes are knoAvn to lay out their 
money in the purchase of Slaves rather than in releasing themselves from 
Slavery. In such cases the rights of the Slave to his own bondsman may 
be said to be recognized by the common law or usage of the Colony, 
which equally protects him in the possession of other descriptions of 
wealth. No instance has ever been known in St. Vincent of a Slave hav- 
ing complained that his master had dispossessed him of any description of 
property ; but the master can sue in the courts for his Slave, and obtain 
judgment against a white or a free man upon proof of the debt. The 
Slaves in St. Vincent, by the common usage and sanction of the society, 
have been, are now in fact — and know themselves to be as well protected 
in the possession of property, as any other class of persons. Who has 
made the complaint that they are not ? Wherever he be let him come 
forth and make out his case — let the grievance be established — and then 
the remedy can be applied. But it is more than childish to call upon the 
Legislatures to make laws which are not required, and of the want of 
which complaint has never been made." — (St. Vincent's Official Report.) 



301 



any master from giving all bis useless Slaves 
their liberty to-morrow, without giving them 
any thing for their support. At this mo- 
ment, the number of free people of all colours 
is rapidly multiplying in our Colonies, but 
their condition is in many places extremely 
wretched. They are ignorant, they will not 
work, they can neither obtain food, nor clothes 
sufficient to cover their nakedness. A friend 
lately come from the W est Indies informed me, 
that he has seen them half naked, begging from, 
and relieved and sheltered by, the Slaves on his 
property, and that he had brought home with him 
as a servant, a free boy, whom his mother beg- 
ged with tears in her eyes, that he would take to 
afford him employment and preserve him from 
starvation. The Slaves regard many of these 
free people as objects of the greatest compassion. 
Without the means of instruction, their children 
become profligates, and to avoid the trouble 
and burden of providing for their children they 
form connections with female Slaves, and 
oftentimes in order to support themselves in 
existence or in idleness, those, in the back set- 
tlements, encourage and decoy the Slaves to 
abscond and rob their masters. Such is the 
state of a number of free coloured people in our 
Colonies, the wretchedness of which state must 



302 



continue to increase, until something is done 
to procure them food, clothing, homes, and 
instruction, for none of which they can afford 
to pay. No other results can follow the heed- 
less manumission of Slaves in our Colonies 
for a series of years yet to come. But the 
same results flow from the same causes in 
other countries. " The redemption of the Gru- 
metia (African Slave) in Africa," says Mr. Ma- 
caulay, in the letter already quoted, 66 without 
any view of prospective advantage, would un- 
doubtedly be a generous act: but it ivould be of 
little real benefit to him, if he were immedi- 
ately abandoned by the persons who had ran- 
somed hi?n, and were not taught to use his fre- 
dom for the benefit of himself and of the socie- 
ty to whom he belonged. No hope, however, 
can be formed, that the charity of individuals 
would operate very extensively in this way." 
These are important truths, and we would recom- 
mend them to the serious attention of all those 
who call out for emancipating the Slaves in 
our West India Colonies, without thinking 
what these Slaves are to do when they are 
emancipated. 

Whether from ignorance or design, the in- 
creasing free population of the Spanish and 
Portuguese Colonies is not candidly stated. It 



303 



is insinuated, or rather said, that this increase 
proceeds from greater facilities of manumission. 
I believe the true cause to be the following: — 
In these Colonies, the Europeans settle with- 
out the smallest wish or intention of re-visiting 
their native country. They therefore marry and 
have families, while some have families without 
the marriage tie, as in other places. These again 
marry and increase, and consider that country as 
their home. Another reason is ; in most — in all of 
these Colonies, there were a great number of 
native free Indians, who intermarrying with the 
freed negroes and mulatto es, and also forming 
connections with whites and other free people, 
independent of their connections with negroes, 
produced a numerous race of free people, who 
multiply and increase. In the British Colonies 
there was no such population at the time of 
their settlement, while Englishmen instead of 
settling for life in our Colonies, and marrying 
and having families, always look forward to 
close their days in their native land. This cer- 
tainly prevents the increase of the free popula- 
tion in our Colonies, being equal to the increase 
in the Spanish and Portuguese settlements. 
The insurrections in many of our islands, have 
also destroyed and forced away a number of 
the free settlers, while the exhausted state of 



304 



the lands in the interior of these Colonies, has 
forced away a great many more of our free people, 
to swell the population in the Spanish settlements. 
It must also be borne in mind, that a very great 
number of free coloured children come annually 
to this country, and never return to the Colo- 
nies again. These are, I believe, the real 
causes of the apparently greater increase of the 
free population in those Colonies, than in ours ; 
but to assign any rational reason for it, would 
take away odium from our West India Colonies, 
which must not, it appears, be done. 

I come now to the last charge, which is this — 
? Sixteen years have now elapsed since the 
British Slave trade was abolished ; but during that 
long period, no effectual steps have been taken 
either in this country or in the Colonies, for miti- 
gating the rigours of negroe bondage." The false- 
hood of the charge here made is so notorious, that 
it scarcely merits contradiction. The mitigation 
goes on daily, and from the period when African 
savages have no longer reached the Colonies, 
improvements have made rapid strides. This 
must be known to government As negroes be- 
come more civilized, they become more indus- 
trious, more obedient, attend more to advice, 
are more respectful and obedient to their masters, 
and require less coercion and punishment. These 



305 



better feelings become reciprocal, and make the 
master more attentive and affectionate to his 
Slave. I do not mean to say the abolition of 
the Slave trade alone produced amelioration; 
that was constantly going on, but the exclusion 
of fresh numbers of savages has rendered im- 
provement more rapid. The difference within 
the last 20 years is immense. In Jamaica, says 
Mr. Stewart, p. 230—231, " Many or most of 
the old abuses are removed; punishments are 
more rare and far less severe, the Slaves are not 
worked at unreasonable hours (excepting the 
night work during crop, which will continue un- 
til methods are devised for expediting the work 
by day at that period) labour is more mild ; the 
Slaves are better fed, clothed, and lodged ; and 
when sick, experience kinder attention, and are 
more amply supplied with necessary comforts , 
and above all, the breeding womeo are carefully 
attended to, and receive every necessary indul- 
gence and assistance : atrocious cases of cruelty 
are rarely heard of ; a greater degree of confi- 
dence, comfort, arid contentment is observable 
in the looks and appearance of the Slaves," &c. 
I need not multiply references and proofs. I 
assert, that what is here stated to be the condi- 
tion of the Slaves in Jamaica, is the condition 



306 



of Slaves in every other Colony, and in some 
even it is more improved # . 

Yet the daring scribe of this London Society, 
though he knew this, asserts, that nothing has 
been done, nay, after arraying before his readers 
(with what truth I have shewn) the horrors he 
had imagined, created, and formed ; he adds, 
" Such are some of the more prominent features 
of negroe Slavery, as it is practised in the Co- 
lonies of Great Britain. Revolting as they are, 
they form only a part of these circumstances 
of wretchedness and degradation 5 ' attendant upon 
it. He is right to conclude in spirit and in cha- 

* " Punishment by the cart-whip has long since ceased to be used but in 
serious transgressions, and then with the moderation prescribed by the 
law. The females are never exposed and whipped in the manner repre- 
sented, many of those who asserted this as fact knew the reverse. Con- 
finement in the stocks, withholding for a week some little extra perquisite 
they have been allowed, aud many other ways of making them feel and 
suffer for their misconduct are resorted to, till forbearance would no longer 
be serviceable to themselves or their connections. The women are often 
the most intemperate and turbulent persons in the gang, and when at last 
punishments can no longer be delayed, females are then employed about 
them, and for the express purpose of preventing this exposure so much 
complained of ; and many persons who have been living for twenty years 
on plantations, have heard more of it in the debates in Parliament, and the 
inflammatory pamphlets in England, than they ever witnessed in St. Vin- 
cent's. It is in fact one of the calumnies best calculated to excite an ab- 
hon ence for the West Indians, and to arouse that torrent of public feeling 
in England which they will be the least able to resist. The constant 
custom in St. Vincent's, when severe punishment is called for, is to apply 
to two magistrates, before whom the offender is carried." (St. Vincent's 
Report.) 



307 



meter — it is only one additional fabrication added 
to the multitude advanced. 

Throughout the manifesto issued by this 
society, there is not greater injustice and want of 
candour displayed in the misrepresenting truth, 
than in concealing facts. The latter is even more 
dangerous and reprehensible than the other. 



x2 



CHAPTER XL 



Slavery as it formerly existed in Europe and in Eng- 
land. — Numerous important facts kept out of view 
by the anti- Colonists. — Negroes dislike innovations. 
— Instance of emancipated negroes in Tortola de- 
clining agricultural labour. — Spanish Colonial sys- 
tem strangely adduced as an example for Great Bri- 
tain to imitate. — Emancipated Slaves in United 
States. — Their wretched state and bad character. — 
Enfranchisement of Slaves in Colombia misrepre- 
sented. — How effected — Importation of Slaves still 
continued by the United States. — Disingenuous pro- 
ceedings of the anti- Colonists. — Buxton s motion. — 
The time they appoint for complete emancipation. 

THE champions and scribes of the African In- 
stitution, in order to irritate the population of 
this country, never fail to describe the system of 
Slavery established in our West India Colonies 
as the worst witnessed on earth. Either history 
is a fable or their statements are untrue. From 
the pages of one of our ablest historians I select 
the account of that Slavery which formerly ex- 
isted in Europe and in England. 



309 



Slavery in Euuopk. 
Extracts from Robertson's Prefatory Essay to the History of 
Charles THE 5th, — relating to the State of the Peasantry in Europe. 
Octavo edition, Sect. i. p. 15. 

" An universal anarchy, destructive, in a great measure, of all the ad- 
vantages which men expect to derive from society prevailed. The people, 
the most numerous as well as the most useful part of the community, 
were either reduced to a state of actual servitude, or treated with the 
same insolence and rigour as if they had been degraded into that wretched 
condition. * 

" The persons employed in cultivating the ground during the ages under 
review, may he divided into three classes. 
1st. " Servants or Slaves. 

" This seems to have been the most numerous class, a:id consisted either 
of captives taken in war, or of persons, the property iu whom was acquired 
in some one of the various methods enumerated by Du Cange. — Vol. 6. 
p. 447. 

" The wretched condition of this numerous race of men will appear from 
several circumstances. 

1st. " Their masters had absolute dominion over their persons. They 
had the power of punishing their Slaves capitally without the intervention 
of any judge. This dangerous right they possessed not only in the more 
early periods when their manners were fierce, but it continued as late as 
the 12th century. 

" Even after this jurisdiction of masters came to be restrained, the life of 
a Slave was deemed to be of so little value, that a very slight compensa- 
tion atoned for taking it away. If masters had power over the lives of 
their Slaves, it is evident that almost no bounds would beset to the rigour 
of the punishments which they might inflict upon them. The codes of 
ancient laws prescribed punishments for the crimes of Slaves different 
from those which were inflicted on free men. The latter paid only a fine 
or compensation, the former were subjected to corporal punishments. 
The cruelty of these was in many instances excessive. Slaves might be 
put to the rack on very slight occasions. The laws with respect to these 
points are to be found in Potgiesserus, lib. iii. c. 7, 2, and are shocking to 
humanity. 

2nd. " If the dominion of masters over the lives and persons of their 



* Note 9, pare 209. 



310 



Slaves was thus extensive, it was no less so over their actions and pro- 
perty. They were not originally permitted to marry. Male and female 
Slaves were allowed, and even encouraged, to cohabit together. But this 
union was not considered as a marriage. It was called co?itubernium — 
not nuptics or matrimonium. This notion was so much established, that 
during several centuries after the barbarous nations embraced the 
christian religion, Slaves who lived as husband and wife, were not 
joined together by any religious ceremony, and did not receive the miptial 
benediction from a priest. When the conjunction between Slaves came 
to be considered as a lawful marriage, they were not permitted to marry 
without the consent of their master, and such as ventured to do so with- 
out obtaining that, were punished with great severity, and sometimes put 
to death. When the manners of the European nations became more 
gentle and their ideas more liberal, Slaves who married without their 
masters' consent were subjected only to a fine. 

3rd. " All the children of Slaves were in the same condition with their 
parents, and became the property of the master. 

4th. " Slaves were so entirely the property of their masters, that they 
could sell them at pleasure. While domestic Slavery continued, property 
in a Slave was sold in the same manner with that which a person had in 
any other moveable. Afterwards Slaves became adscripts glebce, and were 
conveyed by sale together with the farm or estate to which they belonged. 
Potgiesserus has collected the laws and charters which illustrate this well 
known circumstance in the condition of Slaves. Lib. ii. c. 4, 5. 

5th. " Slaves had a title to nothing but clothes and subsistence from 
their master, all the profits of their labour accrued to him. If a master 
from indulgence gave his Slave any peculium or fixed allowance for their 
subsistence, they had no right of property in what they saved out of 
that ; all that they accumulated belonged to their master. Conformably 
to the same principle, all the effects of Slaves belonged to their master 
at their death, and they could not dispose of them by testament. 

6th. " Slaves were distinguished from free men by a peculiar dress. 
Among all the barbarous nations long hair was a mark of dignity and of 
freedom. Slaves were, for that reason, obliged to shave their heads, and 
by this distinction, however indifferent soever it may be in its own 
nature,, they were reminded every moment of the inferiority of their 
condition. For the same reason it was enacted, in the laws of almost 
all the nations of Europe, that "no Slave should be permitted to give evi- 
dence against a free man in a court of justice. 



311 

" Villeins : They were likewise adscripti gkbep. or villa, from which they 
derive their name, and were transferable along with it. But in this they 
differed from Slaves, that they paid a fixed' rent to their master, for the 
land which they cultivated, and after paying that, all the fruits of their 
labour and industry, belonged to themselves in property. 

*" The usurpations of the nobles were become intolerable. They had 
reduced the great body of the people into actual servitude'. Nor was 
such oppression the portion of those alone who dwelt in the country and 
were employed in cultivating the estate of their master. Cities and 
villages found it necessary, to hold of some great lord, on whom they 
might depend for protection, and became no less subject to his arbitrary 
jurisdiction. The inhabitants were deprived of those rights which in social 
life, are deemed natural and inalienable. They could not dispose of the 
effects which their own industry had acquired, cither by a latter will, or 
by any deed executed during their life. They had no right to appoint 
guardians to their children during their minority. They were not permit- 
ted to marry without purchasing the permission of the lord on whom they 
depended. If once they had commenced a law-suit, they durst not termi- 
nate it by an accommodation, because they would have deprived the lord, 
in whose court they pleaded, of the perquisites due to him on passing 
sentence. Services of various kinds, no less disgraceful than oppressive, 
were exacted from them, without mercy or moderation. 

" Louis le Gros, first adopted the plan of conferring new privileges on 
the towns situated within his own domains. These privileges were called 
Charters of Community, by which lie enfranchised the inhabitants, abolished 
all marks of servitude, and formed them into corporations, or bodies po- 
litic, to be governed by a council and magistrates of their own nomina- 
tion f. 

" In less than two centuries, servitude was abolished in most of the 
towns in France, and they became free corporations instead of dependent 
villages X- 

" Long before the institution of communities in France, charters of 
immunity for franchise, were granted to some towns and villages, by the 
lords on whom they depended. But they are very different from such as 
became common in the 12th and 13th centuries. They did not erect 
these towns into corporations, they did not establish a municipal go vera - 



* The Ancient State of Cities, p 
f Page 3^, A. D. 1108, to 1137. 



% Fage81. 



312 



ment, they did not grant them the privilege of bearing arms. They con- 
tained nothing more than a manumission of the inhabitants from the 
yoke of servitude *. 

" A great number of these charters are published by Mons. D'Achery, in 
his Spicelegium. These convey a very striking representation of the 
wretched condition of cities previous to the institution of communities, 
when they were subject to the judges appointed by the superior lords of 
whom they held, and who had scarcely any other law but their will. 

" The inhabitants of towns, having been declared free by the charters 
of communities, that part of the people which resided in the country 
and was employed in agriculture, began to recover liberty by enfranchise- 
ment f. 

" During the rigour of the feudal government, the great body of the 
lower people was reduced to servitude. They were Slaves fixed to the 
soil which they cultivated, and together with it were transferred from 
one proprietor to another, by sale or by conveyance. The spirit of 
feudal policy, did not favour the enfranchisement of this order of 
men 

" It was an established maxim that no vassal could legally diminish the 
value of a fief, to the detriment of the lord from whom he had received 
it. In consequence of this, manumission, by the authority of the imme- 
diate master, was not valid; -and unless it was confirmed by the superior 
lord of whom he held, Slaves belonging to the fief, did not acquire a com- 
plete right to their liberty. Thus it became necessary to ascend through 
all the gradations of feudal holding to the king, the lord paramount. A 
form of procedure, so tedious and troublesome discouraged the practice 
of manumission. Domestic, or personal Slaves often obtained liberty 
from the humanity or beneficence of their masters. The condition of 
Slaves fixed to the soil was much more unalterable §. 

" When charters of manumission were granted, they contained four con- 
cessions, corresponding to the four capital grievances to which men in a 
state of servitude are subject. 

1. " The right of disposing of their persons by sale or grant was re- 
linquished. 

2. " Power was given to them of conveying their property and effects by 
will or any other legal deed. Or if they happened to die intestate, it was 

* Note 16, page 232. 
f Acquisition of liberty by the people, by enfranchisement, page 36. 
\ Notes, page 233 . § Page 36 . 



313 



provided, that their property should go to their lawful heirs, in the same 
manner as the property of other persons. 

3. " The services and taxes which they owed to their superior liege 
lord, which were formerly arbitrary, ttnd imposed at pleasure, are pre- 
cisely ascertained. 

4. " They are allowed the privilege of marrying according to their own 
inclination. Formerly they could contract no marriage without their 
lord's permission, and with no person but one of his Slaves *. 

" As sentiments of religion induced some to grant liberty to their 
fellow christians who groaned under the yoke of servitude, so mistaken 
ideas concerning devotion, led others to relinquish their liberty f. 

" The oblati, or voluntary Slaves of churches and monasteries, were 
very numerous, and may be divided into three different classes. 

" The first were such as put themselves, and their effects, under the 
protection of a particular church or monastery, binding themselves to 
defend its privileges and property against every aggressor. They were 
rather vassals than Slaves. And sometimes persons of noble birth found 
it prudent to secure the protection of the church in this manner. 

" Persons of the second class bound themselves to pay an annual tax 
out of their estates, to a church or monastery. Besides this they some- 
times engaged to perform certain services. They were called " Censuales." 

" The last class consisted of such as actually renounced their liberty, 
and became Slaves in the strict and proper sense of the word. These 
were called " Ministeriales." See Ducange, Voc. Oblatus, vol. iv. page 
286 %. 

" Great, however, as the power of religion was, it does not appear that 
the enfranchisement of Slaves, was a frequent practice while the feudal 
system preserved its vigour. On the contrary, there were laws which set 
bounds to it, as detrimental to society. 

" The inferior order of men owed their recovery of their liberty, to the 
decline of that aristocratical policy, which lodged the most extensive 
power in the hands of a few members of the society and depressed all the 
rest. 

" When Louis the 10th, issued his ordonnance, several Slaves had been 
so long accustomed to servitude, and their minds were so much debased 
by their unhappy situation, that they refused to accept of the liberty 
which was offered them. Long after the reign of Louis X. several of the 



* Note 20, page 248. 



t Page 251. 



t Page 252. 



314 



French nobility, continued to assert their ancient dominion over their 
Slaves. It appears from an ordonnance of the famous Bertrand de Gues- 
elin constable of France, that the custom of enfranchising them was 
considered as a pernicious innovation. In some instances the Praedial Slaves 
were declared to be free men, they were bound still to perform certain 
services, to their ancient masters, and were kept in a state different from 
other subjects, being restricted either from purchasing land, or becoming 
members of a community within the precincts of the manor to which 
they formerly belonged. This, however, seems not to have been common. 
There is no general law for the manumission of Slaves, in the statute 
book of England, similar to that which has been quoted from the ordon- 
nances of the kings of France. 

" Though the genius of the English constitution, seems early to have 
favoured personal liberty, personal servitude continued nevertheless long 
in England, in some particular places. In the year 1514, we find a 
charter of Henry VIII. enfranchising two Slaves belonging to one of his 
manors. As late as the year 1574, there is a commission from Queen 
Elizabeth, with respect to the manumission of certain bondsmen belong- 
ing to her*. 

Slavery in England. 
Extracts from Hume's History of England, relative to the State of 
the Peasantry in England, till the extinction of villeinage, Appendix, 
page 211, 8vo. Edition. 

" The most numerous rank by far in the community seems to have been 
the Slaves, or villeins, who were the property of their lords, and were 
consequently incapable themselves of possessing any property. Dr. 
Brady assures us, from a survey of Dooms Day Book, that, in all the 
counties in England, the far greater part of the land was occupied by 
them, and that the husbandmen, and still more the Socmen, who were 
tenants that could not be removed at pleasure, were very few in 
comparisonf. 

" There were two kinds of Slaves among the Anglo-Saxons ; household 
Slaves after the manner of the ancients, and prcedial or rustic, after the 
manner of the Germans. 

" These latter resemble the serfs which are at present to be met with in 
Poland, Denmark, and some parts of Germany. The power of a master 
over his Slaves, was not unlimited among the Anglo-Saxons, as it was 



* Page 253. 



f Page 212. 



315 



among their ancestors. If a man beat out his Slaves eye, or teeth, the 
Slave recovered his liberty. If he killed him, he paid a fine to the King - , 
provided the Slave died within a day after the wound or blow, otherwise 
it passed unpunished. The selling of themselves or children to Slavery, 
was always the practice among the German nations, and was continued 
by the Anglo-Saxons*. 

" If we consider the ancient state of Europe, we shall find that the far 
greater part of the society, were every where bereaved of their personal 
liberty and lived entirely at the will of their masters. Every one that 
was not noble was a Slave. The peasants were sold along with the land. 
The few inhabitants of cities were not in a better condition. 

"The first incident which broke in upon this violent system of govern- 
ment, was the practice begun in Italy, and imitated in France, of erect- 
ing communities and corporations, endowed with privileges of a separate 
municipal government, and which gave them protection against the ty- 
ranny of the Barons, and which the Prince himself deemed it prudent 
to respect. 

" The relaxation of the feudal tenures, and an execution somewhat shorter 
of the public law bestowed an independance on vassals which was un- 
known to their forefathers, and even the peasants themselves, though 
somewhat like those other orders of the state, made their escape from 
those bonds of villeinage or slavery, in which they had formerly been 
retained. 

" It may appear strange, that the progress of the arts, which seems 
among the Greeks and Romans to have daily increased the number of 
Slaves, should in latter times have proved so general a source of liberty ; 
but this difference in the events proceeded from a great difference in the 
circumstances which attend those institutions. The ancient Barons 
obliged to maintain themselves continually in a military posture, and 
little emulous of elegance or splendour, employed not their villeins as 
domestic servants, much less as manufacturers, but composed their re- 
tinue of free men, whose military spirit rendered the chieftain formida- 
ble to his neighbours, and who were ready to attend him in every war- 
like enterprize. The villeins were entirely occupied in the cultivation of 
their master's land, and paid their rents, either in corn and cattle, and 
other produce of the farm, or in servile offices, which they performed 
about the Baron's family, and upon the farms which he retained in his 



* Chap. 23, page 302. vol. iii. end of Record 3. 



316 



own possession. In proportion as agriculture improved and money in- 
creased, it was found that these services, though extremely burdensome 
to the villein, were of little advantage to the master, and that the pro- 
duce of a large estate could be much more conveniently disposed of by 
the peasants themselves, who raised it, than by the landlord or his 
bailiff who were formerly accustomed to receive it. 

" A commutation was therefore made of rents for services, and of money 
rents for those in kind, and as men in a subsequent age discovered that 
farms were better cultivated where the farmer enjoyed a security in his 
possession, the practice of granting leases to the peasant began to prevail 
which entirely broke the bonds of servitude, already much relaxed from 
the former practices. After this manner villeinage went gradually into 
disuse throughout the more civilized parts of Europe. The interest of 
the master as well as that of the Slave, concurred in this alteration. The 
latest laws which we find in England, for enforcing or regulating this 
species of seiwitude, were enacted in the reign of Henry VII., and though 
the ancient statutes on this subject remain unrepealed by Parliament, it 
appears that, before the end of Elizabeth, the distinction of villein and 
freeman was totally, though insensibly abolished, and that no person re- 
mained in the state, to whom the former laws could be applied." 

Taking the Review and its associates as our 
guides, we should be led to suppose that there 
were neither air, land, nor water in the West 
Indies, or that if there were, that these elements 
were as barren and unproductive as Moses de- 
nounced to the Jews that their country should 
become in case of transgression — namely " The 
heavens over thy head shall be brass, and the 
earth that is under thy feet shall be iron*. " In 
the West Indies, however, all these elements 
teem with animal and vegetable life to &n asto- 
nishing degree. In the small island of Tortola 



* Deuteronomy, chap. 28, verse 23. 



317 



and its dependencies, which contain only about 
8,500 persons, freemen and Slaves, there were 
in 1822 the following stock, &c. — horses 240 ; 
mules and asses 529; horned cattle 2,597; 
sheep 11,442; goats 3,225; pigs 1,825; poul- 
try 44,050; and the quantity of fresh fish 
caught annually amounted to 1,583,373 lbs. # 
Does the reviewer believe that 533 whites and 
1448 free coloured people of all ages consume 
the above, or the produce of the above, and that 
the Slaves get no part thereof? The quantity 
of fish alone exceeds half a pound per day to 
each individual in the Virgin islands ! yet these 
islands are decidedly and in every respect the 
poorest of all the West India Colonies. Let 
our anti-Colonists, so fond of descriptions of 
misery and want, but apply to our whole Co- 
lonial possessions the scale here produced, and, 
without having recourse to Mr. Cropper's cotton 
speculation arithmetic, they would produce a re- 
sult which would appal and sink into insignifi- 
cance Mr. Cropper's boldest calculations. The 
quantity of fish by this scale annually caught in our 
West India Colonies would be 158,837,300 lbs. ; 
the number of poultry in them would be 
4,405,000; and of sheep 1,144,200, &c. &c. 
The government of negro Slaves requires a 

* Stobo's Statistical Tables for Tortola, April 1823. 



318 



firm and steady hand. A relaxation of discipline 
is attended with the most fatal and pernicious 
consequences to all concerned. There are more 
gangs of negroes spoiled by injudicious lenity 
than injured by severity. Their habits and their 
prejudices are always deep-rooted and strong, 
and amongst them, like every other rude people, 
change is extremely difficult, and improvement 
in the practices of civilized life slow. Innumer- 
able and striking instances of this might be ad- 
duced, but the following for the present may 
suffice. A gentleman in London, who holds 
considerable estates in one of the Windward 
islands, directed his attorney a few years ago 
to discontinue the use of. the whip upon his 
estates, and to substitute in its stead small rods 
as the weapons for inflicting chastisement or pu- 
nishment. This change was so little satisfactory 
to the Slaves, that they went in a body to the 
governor of the Colony to complain of it, and to 
intreat his interference to have the old system 
restored *. They reasoned thus to the governor : 
When punished by the whip, the punishment 
cannot be inflicted without several people seeing 
it, and, however hidden the spot, without many 
hearing it ; but by the new mode of punishment 

* The governor is at present in this country. He can scarcely have 
forgotten the fact. 



319 



we may be carried into a thick cane-piece or 
brushwood, and there beat to death without any 
one but he who beats us, either seeing or hear- 
ing it done. There has been worse u palavaring" 
than this in African Institution courts ofjustice. 
The governor, however, recommended patience 
and acquiescence in their master's command. 
Another instance may be mentioned of their 
aversion to change. Some time ago a gentle- 
man in Demerara got out a bell to his estate, in 
order to employ it as a signal for the negroes to 
turn out in the morning instead of the crack of 
the whip, formerly used for that purpose. The 
bell was rung — but the negroes kept snug till 
the whip was cracked as usual, and a very con- 
siderable time elapsed, and considerable dif- 
ficulty was experienced to bring them to regulate 
their conduct by the change. 

Amongst the facts regarding the West Indies, 
disingenuously kept out of view by the oppo- 
nents of the Colonies, I may state the following. 
From the establishment of the oldest of these 
possessions till the restoration of Charles the 
2nd, the West India Sugar trade, like the East 
Indian trade, was free to all the world ; but at 
that time its value and importance began to be 
estimated and felt, and it was in consequence 
from that day to this restricted to Great Britain. 



320 



Most of the lands in the different Colonies were 
grants from the crown, upon the express con- 
dition that these lands were to be cultivated 
by African Slaves. It is a positive and unde- 
niable fact that when the British Colonies, both 
in the West Indies and on the continent of 
America, opposed the further introduction of 
Slaves and enacted laws to prevent it, the Mo- 
ther Country denied their right to do so, and 
enacted laws to protect and encourage the in- 
troduction of Slaves into the Colonies, because 
it was found beneficial to her commercial in- 
terests, her political power, and her prosperity. 
That Slaves were always held and considered 
as property is put beyond all question by the 
acts of the British government, more especially 
by the confiscation and subsequent sale of 
those Slaves who belonged to men attainted as 
traitors in the fatal rebellion in the year 1795, 
in St. Vincent's, Grenada, and other Colonies. 
But their own favourite Registry Bill, the 
creature and the offspring of the brains of 
the African Institution, determines that point, 
for though Mr. Stephen, whose memory on such 
subjects is none of the best, may have forgotten 
the fact, yet the British public has not, that one 
of the most plausible arguments he used in de- 
fence of that uncalled for measure was, that it 



321 



would determine, beyond evasion, cavil, or dis- 
pute, " the property in Slaves*" and as such 
be most beneficial to the interests of absentees, 
mortgagees, minors, &c. 

It has been stated, that Slaves in general ac- 
quire and possess considerable property, and it 
will perhaps be asked, if they do this when they 
are Slaves, will they not be more ready to ac- 
quire and increase it, when they are made free? 
The answer is, No ! Experience proves the re- 
verse. The authority which kept them in ac- 
tivity, and set them the example of industry, has 
ceased to operate, and lost its influence ; the 
consequence is, that the negroe, like every other 
barbarian and native of the torrid zone, sinks 
back into his former state of indolence and in- 
activity, and will labour no more than is neces- 
sary to supply his immediate and pressing 
wants. The property he has accumulated, when 
in a state of Slavery, is in general dissipated and 
wasted when he becomes free ; numerous in- 
stances might be adduced in proof, but the fol- 
lowing shall suffice for the present : — 

Mrs. Elizabeth Frett, of Spanish-town, Tor- 
tola, before her death emancipated seven Slaves, 
viz. William, George, Peter, Eve, Grace, Bice, 
and Mary-Ann. William was the oldest, and 

* See <e Reasons for a Registry." 
Y 



322 

at the time of his emancipation w as 40 years of 
age ; three months after the death of his mistress, 
William owned and possessed a house, 2 sailing 
boats, both decked and sloop rigged ; the largest 
was worth 700, the smaller worth 160 dollars. 
He was also the master and owner of four 
Slaves, four horses worth about 70 dollars each, 
and several head of horned cattle, and one acre 
of land. He died in July 1821, in great want, 
brought on entirely by indolence. He had got 
rid of all the preceding property except the 
house, a cow, and the land. George died 
about four years ago, and while he lived de- 
pended for support upon his friends, and would 
never labour nor cultivate any land. Mary- Ann 
lives in Broad town, a common prostitute : and 
Bice exists by huxtering canes, and other es- 
tates' produce ; she has a house and cow left 
by her father, and a piece of land which she 
never cultivates. 

Such is the fate and fortune of these Slaves. 
Amongst the natives of the temperate zones 
industry is general and indolence rare ; but 
amongst the natives of the torrid zone the case 
is the reverse, indolence and sloth are general 
— industry rare. 

The Spanish Colonies and the system pursued 
by Spain in them, have been thrown in the teeth 



323 



of the West India Colonies, and very unac- 
countably held up as guides for the latter to 
imitate. If any thing from the quarter from 
whence this reasoning comes could excite sur- 
prise, the course here pursued ought certainly to 
excite it. Why, the argument and the contrast 
are brought forward by the very same men who 
are eternally dinning in our ears that the Spanish 
Colonial policy has been, and continues to be, as 
it really is, the most unwise, impolitic, arbitrary, 
unjust, the most injurious, both to the interests of 
the parent state and to the Colonies that ever was 
contrived or established by any country. Upon 
this very ground the revolt of all these posses- 
sions against the authority of the mother country 
is justified ; and upon these very grounds, the 
same reasoners in this country call upon Great 
Britain to interfere and assist these Spanish Co- 
lonies in their struggle for independence ; they 
give us a further reason, that under another 
system these countries in South America will 
greatly benefit the interests of this country. Yet 
we are called upon to adopt in our Colonies the 
same system that Spain pursued in hers, and by 
which she most unquestionably ruined and im- 
poverished herself and retarded their growth, 
prosperity, improvement and civilization. 

The contradictions adduced by the enemies of 
y 2 



324 



the Colonies are scarcely credible ; they tell us 
of the increasing Slave population of the United 
States from natural causes, while in the same 
breath their publications are filled with instances 
of severity and cruelty, as they state them, ex- 
ceeding what they assert to be perpetrated in 
the West Indies. The fact, as to the increase 
of the Slave population of the United States, is, 
that it proceeds from a great and continued im- 
portation of African negroes # , notwithstanding 
the public abolition of the trade. Many of these 
Slaves are imported from Cuba under foreign 
flags. The American Colonization Society in a 
memorial to congress, December 15th, 1818, 
state very pointedly, that " the temptation to 
import is stronger than the terrors which the law 
holds out. It is not now a matter of suspicion 
but of public notoriety. On the 20th July last 
139 negroes were sold by the Sheriff of New 
Orleans, as having been brought there in viola- 
tion of the laws of the United States; and on 
the 26th of August following, 63 were sold at 
Mellidgeville in Georgia, introduced in a similar 
manner. Several other instances of a like cha- 
racter have taken place in Louisiana, and the 

* Mr. Gladstone in his able letters to Mr. Cropper shews that the 
importation during the last twenty or thirty years, is above 500,000. 



325 



trade is still covertly prosecuted in a variety of 
forms." 

A great deal lias been said and written about 
the safety with w hich emancipation has been car- 
ried into effect in the United States of America. 
There is no analogy whatever between the situ a- . 
tion of these states and our West India Colo- 
nies. In the latter, the Slaves are to the free 
in the proportion of 8 to 1. In the former, the 
free are to the Slaves in the proportion of 7 to 
1. Besides, emancipation in the United States 
is a delusion, and those who bring it forward as 
a proof of the safety with which emancipation 
can be carried into effect in our Colonies, must 
know it to be so. Whenever, or wherever, 
from the increase of the free population in the 
Northern States, Slave labour can be dispensed 
with, and the freedom of Slaves is decreed, one 
thing is forgotten, namely, to oblige the Slaves 
in that particular state to remain and be made 
free. To prevent their being so, a regular in- 
ternal Slave trade is carried on from that state — 
as it has been, and is carried on, from all the 
Northern states to the more Southern. The 
Slaves in families are separated, are sold to dif- 
ferent masters, driven to cultivate new lands, 
and drain new pestilential swamps in the South- 
ern territories of the United States — -to labour 



326 



and by that labour, to drive East India cotton 
out of the British market. The same Slave in 
America is sold repeatedly — all his family ties 
are again and again broken asunder, and the 
place of his youth, of his manhood, and of his 
decline, are all and each new and different — 
worse and severer. — Let Mr. Cropper, if he 
can, contradict these facts. 

Colombia also has been adduced as affording 
an example of the safety and utility of negro e 
emancipation. But in this case also the facts 
are most grievously distorted. The free popu- 
lation in Colombia were in the proportion of al- 
most ten to one to the Slave population, and 
even now the latter are not wholly emancipated. 
In the last annual expose of the state of Colom- 
bia which reached this country only a few weeks 
ago, the government distinctly mentioned a fund 
set apart to defray the expense of the gradual 
emancipation of the Slaves still within the 
bounds of the republic. Besides, the Slaves 
emancipated were declared free by Bolivar in a 
moment of despair, when he had no other quarter 
to look to for relief, no other hope of regaining a 
permanent footing in the country from whence 
he had been driven, and where all the property 
he had in the world remained. This took place 
when he re-landed in Colombia with re-enforce- 



327 

merits after his expulsion from that country. 
But what were the consequences? Anarchy and 
confusion. The Slaves set free, or obeying the 
decree of Bolivar, and claiming their freedom, 
rose against their masters and spread flames, 
ruin, and desolation over a wide extent of 
country. From Carraccas to the Gulph of Pa- 
ria, that beautiful vale extending above 250 
miles, formerly cultivated like a garden, was laid 
waste, so ruined that the traveller might now 
traverse a space of 50 miles without meeting a 
human habitation, or a human creature, except 
some miserable decrepid negroe wandering amidst 
those scenes of ashes and desolation. At a sub- 
sequent period we find Bolivar issuing a decree 
declaring all those Slaves who did not upon its 
promulgation join his standards, to be unworthy 
of liberty, and condemning them and their poster- 
ity to perpetual bondage. A great number of the 
fiercest and most savage emancipated negroes 
have been cut off in the war against the mother 
country, and so poor and miserable are those who 
now remain, that they can be hired at one dol- 
lar for ten days 7 labour, (five pence sterling per 
day ;) the most complete possible proof of the 
poverty and misery of the country Another 
proof of the disorganization occasioned by the 
Slave emancipation is, that their produce, par- 



328 



ticularly cocoa, from bearing a higher price in 
the market than any other by two or three dol- 
lars per cwt, is so much deteriorated in quality 
as to bring a price much below any other. 
A long time must elapse before these evils can 
be repaired. 

Amidst all that is imagined, said, and written 
— amidst all the declamatory harangues poured 
forth in the senate, and at the popularity-hunt- 
ing public meetings, about the duty of emanci- 
pating the Slaves in our Colonies, not one 
individual has ever stated how they are to be 
considered in civil society, after the bonds of 
personal Slavery shall have been broken. For 
instance, what rights are they to possess ? Are 
they to become electors, and to be entitled to sit 
as jurors, judges, legislators? — unless all these, 
they are still a degraded class, still most help- 
less, and most wretched. 

The United States of America, afford a strik- 
ing example of this. In the first report of the 
New York Colonization Society, printed last 
year, in pages 15, 16, and 17, I find a letter 
from a free negroe named " Abraham Cramp" 
stating that he represented, a large connection 
of free people, residing on the Wabash, who 
were most anxious to embark for Africa or any 
other country ; because, though free from the 



329 



bonds of personal Slavery, u their freedom was 
partial/' and " they had no hope that it would ever 
be otherwise there." The Colonization Society 
strongly advocate the plan of transporting all 
the free people of colour in the United States, 
estimated at 186,446, to Africa, where they 
would have u a fair prospect of finding a home, 
with freedom, and equal rights." By carrying 
them out of the country, they say " a population 
that adds nothing to the national strength, but 
diminishes it, would be removed." But they do 
not stop here ; they go farther and state, i{ One 
striking injury of this population (blacks) to our 
country, is seen in the fact that our prisons are 
filled with coloured culprits. The prisons of 
this city (New York) exhibit the fact of six 
blacks to one white, in proportion to the whole 
black population of the city." 

But of the progress of civilization, or rather 
the progress of demoralization, amongst eman- 
cipated African negroes, the situation of the free 
coloured population of the State of Connecticut, in 
the United States, affords a very striking example. 
In that State the Slaves were emancipated in 
1784 — forty years ago — a generation it may be 
said. In the Christian Spectator, for Novem- 
ber, 1823, we read as follows :— " The number 



330 



of prisoners in Newgate prison, in this State in 
April last, was 110; nearly one-third of these 
were blacks; while the number of the blacks 
constitutes only about one thirty-third part of 
the whole population. This last fact furnishes 
unequivocal evidence of the degraded condition 
of our coloured population, and the connection 
between ignorance and vice." So much for the 
boasted superiority of emancipated negroes, as 
produced by their warmest friends. 

Nothing can be more uncandid, ungenerous, 
and unjust than the whole conduct of the anti- 
colonial party on this important question, which 
requires the most serious deliberation and care- 
ful thought. To none more important and cri- 
tical can the mind of a statesman be directed ; 
and none ought to be more carefully, or more 
patiently examined, without declamation or pas- 
sion. Instead of adopting this course, however, 
one directly the reverse is pursued. Declama- 
tion, misrepresentation, falsehood, and appeals to 
passion and prejudice are in every instance oppos- 
ed to policy, reason, truth, and justice. A question 
so considered, and so supported, and if carried 
as proposed, by the former weapons, can never 
be attended with beneficial results, either to the 
Mother Country, to the Colonies, or to the 



331 



Slaves themselves. The latter in fact would be 
the severest sufferers, from the result of mea- 
sures carried into effect in such a spirit. 

There is not a single legislative or commercial 
question, relating to the West India Colonies, 
that ever is allowed to be discussed or decided 
upon its own merits. Whatever the subject is, 
it is constantly mixed up with extraneous mat- 
ter; with something to irritate — something to 
mislead — something to inflame. This ought 
not to be. Political coalitions the most mons- 
trous and opposite are formed to carry the most 
unjust legislative measures, against these devoted 
possessions; now, as it would seem, the jeer, 
the jest, and the scorn, though formerly the 
glory, the boast, and the strength of Great 
Britain — possessions to which the keen eyed 
Napoleon, with Europe prostrate at his feet, 
looked with envy. The East India Company 
acting a part the blindest of the blind, calculated 
upon, and sought the assistance of the parlia- 
mentary party called Saints, but more properly 
Anti-colonists, whom they inwardly despise, to 
second their views. The anti-colonists, and those 
who lead and guide them, eagerly snatched the 
moment when they imagined East Indian aid would 
enable them to beat down the West India Colo- 
nies, in order that they might raise Colonies in 



332 



Africa, and through these, and for these, at an 
early day, sap the foundations, and ultimately 
overthrow the gigantic edifice of our Indian em- 
pire. The free traders eagerly joined the coali- 
tion, thinking to relieve themselves from the 
embarrassments and losses, inseparable from a 
trade to India, as at present restricted, and all 
the three parties, but more especially the second, 
joined in misleading the public, and calling 
forth the manufacturing classes to support their 
selfish schemes, as if they had been beneficial to 
their immediate interests. The anti-colonists 
by the influence of their names and professions, 
set what they call religion and humanity at work 
throughout the country to inflame the people, 
to drive the government, to adopt proceedings 
which, whatever were the intentions of those 
who proposed them, would in their operation 
have deprived a large portion of their fellow- 
subjects of their properties and also of their 
lives, and have destroyed, at one blow, a fifth 
part of the whole trade of Great Britain and 
Ireland. 

Such was — such is the mighty and inveterate 
and obstinate combination which by every art, 
measure, and effort, assailed and still assails our 
West India possessions. When the question 
of the equalization of the duty on Sugar was 



333 

first mooted in 1 821, the Parliamentary antago- 
nists of the Colonies broached the question of 
the hard lot of West India Slaves, and last Ses- 
sion of Parliament, as soon as Mr. Whitmore 
announced his intention of bringing the equali- 
zation question before the legislature, Mr. Wil- 
berforce gave notice of a motion connected with 
the state of the Slaves in our Colonies in the 
western world, appointing for its coming on a day 
almost immediately preceding the other. And 
again, when Mr. Whitm ore's motion was de- 
layed, Mr. Wilberforce delayed his also, keep- 
ing the precedence always in view. In this 
manner these subjects were postponed and ar- 
ranged three or four times last session, till at 
last, and previous to the motion on the Sugar 
question, Mr, Buxton, a member who had never 
^before shown any of the qualifications required 
for a legislator or a statesman, with that self- 
confidence which is the usual accompaniment of 
superficial knowledge, stepped forward to solve 
the most difficult and dangerous problem which 
any legislator ever took in hand — a problem from 
which the genius of Pitt shrunk with dismay* 
— a problem described in the King's speech the 
other day most properly as a subject " perplexed 

* " To think," said Mr. Pitt, " of emancipating the Slaves would be 
little short of insanity." 



334 



with difficulties which no sudden effort could dis- 
entangle"— --and proposed to the House a resolu- 
tion, purporting that a state of Slavery (esta- 
blished in our Colonies by our forefathers from 
the time of our first acquisition of them) was 
repugnant to the principles of the British con- 
stitution and of the Christian religion — in other 
words, and free from Parliamentary technicalities-, 
that this country had for two hundred years 
been, on this point, waging open war against all 
laws, human and divine — against the word and the 
will of the Creator of heaven and earth. The 
House were astonished — shocked at the rashness 
and falsity of the proposition, and Mr. Canning, in 
a speech uniting in a singular manner the acute 
logic of the accomplished orator, with the prac- 
tical wisdom of the profound statesman, and 
forming in both respects a striking contrast with 
the composition by which the motion had been 
prefaced, exposed the fallacy of that proposi- 
tion, and saved the West India Colonies, for a 
time, from destruction, and the Parent State 
from sorrow and the most formidable dangers. 

The time thus gained has not, it is hoped, 
been gained for no purpose. The eyes of the 
people of this country are beginning to open to 
the true nature of the measures and manoeuvres 
which have been practised. The public remark, 



335 

that proprietors of East India stock, notwith- 
standing their loud boasts about religion and 
humanity, may, like other men, be guided and 
swayed by interested motives ; and, though the 
British public wish to see abuses, where such 
exist in the West Indies, rectified and removed, 
yet they have no idea of sacrificing those va- 
luable outworks of our empire to the theories of 
would-be statesmen, interested speculators, or 
intemperate zealots. Such sentiments are rous- 
ing men on every side, and will soon overwhelm 
with disgrace the efforts of the anti-Colonial 
party. 

One thing is self-evident in the proceedings 
of all those irresponsible and self-constituted 
societies which start up in London, and spread 
their branches throughout the country to mis- 
lead and agitate it, namely, that their efforts are 
directed to acquire political power in order to 
enthral the mind as well as the body, and when- 
ever they do attain either political influence or 
authority, they rule with a rod of iron, and di- 
rect with the utmost virulence their engines 
against the establishments in church and state, 
and all who support and defend them. With 
the money drawn from the pockets of the cre- 
dulous multitude, deceived by their professions, 
they are busily employed in organizing that ma- 



336 



chinery, which if not broken up, will one day, and 
that not far distant, be employed to forge chains 
for both the mind and body, marching forward 
in the strength of their zeal till, like Cromwell, 
they engrave on the muzzles of their cannon — 
" Lord, open thou our lips, and our mouths will 
shew forth thy praise." 

The opponents of the Colonies also, like the 
followers of Cromwell, seem to consider every 
means lawful and proper that can accelerate 
their end. There is, accordingly, no depen- 
dence to be placed upon their word. They un- 
say to-day what they most solemnly asserted 
yesterday. Their declaration now is, that with 
the abolition of the African Slave trade, they 
contemplated the early and total emancipation 
of those Slaves already in our Colonies. Within 
these few years the language of their leaders 
was directly the reverse. Mr. Wilberforce 
most solemnly declared, in the face of all Eu- 
rope, that he had no such views, u that it was 
against the Slave trade, not Slavery that his 
efforts were directed # " And Mr. Stephen, at 

* " The hostility of the West Indians," said Mr. Wilberforce, " was 
greatly aggravated by an attempt which had been made with considerable 
success, to confound the trade in Slaves with the emancipation of these 
already in our Colonies; the abolitionists took all opportunities of 
proclaiming that it was the Slave trade, not Slavery, against which 
they were directing their efforts." — (Letter to Talleyrand, at Congress in 
Vienna, 1814 — page 21.) 



337 



a still later period, treated the insinuation against 
Mr. Wilberforce to that effect * c as a stale and 
idle charge, as much out of time as out of place/ 
and, only six years ago, the latter gentleman 
publicly and pointedly declared, that the indi- 
vidual who presumed even to mention or allude 
to the u emancipation" of the Slaves, might be 
"justly branded as an incendiary, and pro- 
secuted to condign punishment, as a mover of 
sedition*? 

These tergiversations, to give them no harsher 
name, are altogether destructive and subversive 
of Colonial security and prosperity. A state 
of uncertainty is even worse than a final decision, 

*In a letter printed in an appendix to a memorial to the privy council, 
Mr. Stephen treats the design " imputed to Mr. Wilberforce and himself, 
of wishing to emancipate the Slaves, as a stale and idle charge ; as much 
out of time as out of place," and expresses himself indignantly at the idea 
" of their being thought capable of entertaining a purpose which they had 
publicly disclaimed." {Letter to Judge Smithy January 15M, 1813.) 

Nor did Mr. Stephen stop with this declaration. Subsequent to the 
insurrection in Barbadoes he said : — " What more natural than that the 
poor beings most interested in the fiction (emancipation) should believe 
and act upon it ? What more dangerous than to impress them with 
tb r -^r>Prol enfranchisement being intended for them by the 



338 

however hostile that may be to the present Co- 
lonial system. It could scarcely have been cre- 
dited that men like Mr. Wilberforce and Mr. 
Stephen, would have so soon, and so publicly, 
declared that all their previous declarations 
were so many deceptions practised to lull the 
Colonists to sleep, till stronger means were pre- 
pared to work their ruin. Yet so it is. The 
fact stands recorded before the eyes of all Europe* 
The cry and the deception now practised, is not 
emancipation, but u gradual emancipation? 
What that means^ is best ascertained by the 
voice of their trumpet, the Edinburgh Review, 
which declares that " the present generation 
must witness the transition of Slavery into free 
labour*." In u the present generation," it is 
presumed the critic includes Mr. Wilberforce 
and Mr. Stephen, and if he does, it requires not 
the spirit of prophecy to fortell that " the tran- 
sition " contemplated is at hand — at our doors. — 
The Colonists will do well to remember the words 
of the oracle ; if they do not. fjK*y£ 



339 



soon force themselves upon their recollections 
amidst tears of anguish and sighs of despair. 

But if the Reviewer's period for emancipation 
is dark and uncertain, that prescribed by the 
daring spirit of Mr. Buxton, is sufficiently ex- 
plicit. " In twenty or thirty years/' says hie, 
" the young, the vigorous, and rising generation 
will be free, and only the aged and decrepid 
will remain in Slavery." Without stopping to 
inquire who is to support " the aged and de- 
crepid," I may remark, that Mr. Buxton has 
either never read a page of history, or studied 
it to little purpose, or from its pages he could 
not have failed to learn that six centuries have 
elapsed since the supply of Slaves in Europe 
was cut off, by relinquishing the practice of re- 
taining prisoners of war in Slavery; and yet 
amongst its Christian population, infinitely su- 
perior to the African savage in point of intellect, 
the evil of Slavery continues to exist. Only 
fifteeu years have elapsed since the supply of 
African Slaves was cut off from our Colonies, 
and scarcely 200 years since the first of the 
dregs of the African population were introduced 
into these possessions as Slaves, and yet u in 
twenty years" from this date, Mr. Buxton will 
have all set free — capable of appreciating and 
enjoying freedom, — who can move either tongue 

z 2 



340 



or limb ! Why Mr. Owen's squares, parallelo- 
grams, and man the mere machine of his fancy 
or his creation, are plausible and reasonable 
things compared to such delirium and folly. 
Mr. Buxton would rear up in a day what is the 
work of ages. That he may pull down the la- 
bours of ages in a day I admit. King David 
and his son Solomon took about 40 years in 
preparing the funds and the means, and in build- 
ing and enriching the temple of Jerusalem. The 
tyrant of Babylon, employed as the weapon of 
the offended Deity, plundered it in a day — laid 
it in ashes in a moment! 



CHAPTER XII. 



Immense stake at issue on this question. — English 
laws constitute Slaves property. — African Institu- 
tion may civilize A frica without injuring the West 
Indies. — Great property of West India proprietors. 
— Productive industry of our Colonies, contrasted 
with that of the Mother Country and other places. 
— France and United States watching our conduct, 
and rejoicing at our errors. — Dangerous state of 
the Colonies. — Prompt and decided measures neces- 
sary for their preservation. — Government of the Co- 
lonies must not be taken out of the hands of the ex- 
ecutive government. — Concluding observations. — 
Further exposure of the system of espionage and 
calumny carried on by the anti- Colonists — Mr. 
Stephens new publication — Negroe Slavery — gene- 
ral features of it. 

The point at issue in reference to the measures 
clamoured for in this country is, whether Great 
Britain shall keep or lose her Colonies. If she 
is determined to keep them she must go- 
vern them in a constitutional manner, and not 
according to the intermeddling theories of indi- 



342 



viduals in this country, who, however honest 
their intentions may be, are completely ignorant 
of the nature of the population of the 
Colonies, or the way to govern and direct 
them, so as to insure what is most beneficial 
either to themselves or to the country. The 
mighty power of Great Britain may, indeed, 
crush insurrection in the smaller Islands ; but 
should more extensive insurrections take place, 
to crush these is doing little, in fact nothing, as 
she would then only rule over discontented and 
ferocious subjects, over a country laid, in ashes. 
The property once destroyed, can never be re- 
placed by Great Britain. Slaves she cannot 
obtain, and no man in this country will again, 
after such a catastrophe, advance one shilling 
to rebuild works or restore cultivation, even 
could the negroes once emancipated through re- 
volt, be again restored to subjection. The 
master's property destroyed or ruined, the 
emancipated Slave will have neither capital nor 
credit, and what trifling cultivation may be car- 
ried on in coffee, cocoa, or cotton, will un- 
questionably be carried on for the benefit of 
some other power than Great Britain. The 
whole trade of the West India Islands would, 
under such circumstances, go into the hands of 
the United States, our maritime rival. Not 



345 



one hogshead of Sugar would, under such cir- 
cumstances, come to this country. St. Domin- 
go is a beacon placed before our eyes, and we 
must be blind, indeed, if we do not see it, and 
seeing it, culpable — criminal, if we do not take 
warning from it. The immense capital vested 
in the West India Colonies, and applied to the 
purpose of cultivation, is not like mercantile 
capital, which, when shut out from one port or 
country, can fie turned into another channel. 
No ! the property in question is not transferable 
like mercantile capital, and when lost can not be 
replaced. 

The stake at issue is immense. Two hun- 
dred millions of real property, an annual trade 
of 15 millions in exports and imports, an annual 
income of ten millions obtained from these Co- 
lonies by various persons in this country and 
spent in it; and the comfort and progressive 
improvement of a population of 800,000 rude 
Africans or their progeny, the personal safety of 
100,000 of our fellow subjects and their children, 
and all the vast interests which in this country 
depend upon their connection with these pos- 
sessions, may be compromised by one rash act, 
and will inevitably be sacrificed by a continua- 
tion of the present inconsiderate clamour. The 
enfranchisement of the Slaves in our Colonies, 



344 



even were that enfranchisement practicable, 
cannot be precipitated. Any attempt to do 
so must either retard it or produce a most 
destructive convulsion. Many centuries, as has 
already been observed, elapsed after the supply 
of Slaves in European kingdoms had been cut 
off, before the progeny of these Slaves were 
raised to the rank of free men. Only fifteen years 
have elapsed since the African supply was cut 
off from our Colonies. Generations must elapse 
before the last imported are fit to receive free- 
dom, or to appreciate what it means. No one will 
maintain that the negroe of Africa is endowed 
with equal capabilities, mental or corporeal, to 
those of the former villeins in Europe, or any 
part of her hardy population, nor can the improve- 
ment of the former be expected to be more ra- 
pid than that of the latter. The melioration of 
the condition of the Slaves in our Colonies was, 
however, proceeding with rapid strides, till the 
present uncalled for measures endangered the 
whole. There could not be a doubt that if left 
undisturbed the foundation would be laid, and 
the completion of emancipation be witnessed 
with safety and security, and in a great deal less 
time than by the dangerous measures now pro- 
posed, and that the silent and progressive im- 
provements of all kinds going on in the West 



345 



Indies, would ultimately accomplish the object. 
Done in this manner also, it would be done with- 
out injustice or danger to the master, because it 
would be done by himself. Unless accomplished 
in this manner, it can only be brought about 
through injustice, misery, and destruction to 
every party interested or connected with it. 

" The West Indians/' says Mr. Clarkson, " in 
consequence of having legislated upon princi- 
ples which are at variance with those upon which 
the laws of England are founded, have forfeited 
all their charters. The Mother Country has 
therefore the right to withdraw these charters 
whenever she pleases, and substitute such others 
as she may think proper # ." The principles here 
advanced and recommended are'most pernicious, 
arbitrary, and destructive. It is not true that the 
Colonies legislate contrary to the laws of Eng- 
land. Those laws established the Colonies and 
all that is at present in them as they are. The 
Colonists are British subjects. They possess 
charters and rights which the Mother Country 
cannot abrogate, and property which she cannot 
take away without a gross violation of all justice. 
Take for example Jamaica. King Charles II. 
by proclamation declared " that all the children of 
His Majesty's free born subjects of England, to be 

* Clarkson's " Thoughts" page 12. 



346 



born in Jamaica/shall, from their respective births 
be reputed to be and shall be free denjzens of 
England, and shall have the same privileges 
to all intents and purposes, as His Majesty's 
free born subjects of England # ." These are 
privileges, this is a charter which the Mother 
Country cannot justly do away. She may as 
well, nay with more propriety, take away Mr. 
Clarkson's privileges, because in some instances 
he refuses to be amenable to, or to regulate his 
religious belief by the established laws of Eng- 
land. 

But if the Mother Country cannot justly in- 
fringe civil and political rights and privileges, 
still less can she meddle with that which she her- 
self has constituted property, without the con- 
sent of the owners thereof, and without full and 
complete indemnification for what she may wish 
to take, to change, or to deteriorate. Mr. Reeves, 
law clerk to the committee of privy council, 
1789, by their desire and for their guidance 
drew up in his legal capacity, an able paper, 
from which the following is an important extract. 
" The leading idea in the negroe system of juris- 
prudence, is that which was put in the minds 
of those interested in its formation ; namely, that 
negroes were property, and a species of pro- 

* Proclamation, Whitehall, December 14th, in the 30th year of his reign. 



347 

perty that needed a vigorous and vigilant regu- 
lation. With the exception of Nevis, Slaves 
are considered as inheritances, and are accord- 
ingly subject to the incidents of real property, 
&,c. The property in Slaves is recognised by 
the laws of England. By the stat. 5th Geo. 
II. c. 7, they are expressly subjected to payment 
of debts as chattels; and since, by stat. 13th, 
Geo. III. c. 14, they may be mortgaged, even 
to a foreigner, as freehold estate # ." It would 
be waste of words to comment on laws so plain. 
On these the Colonists take their stand, and 
from that ground they repel the foul slanders of 
their accusers, that they are robbers, resetters t, 
law contemners, and law violaters. When the 
Mother Country in the plenitude of her power 
and wisdom shall declare negroes to be no longer 
property she must pay the value of what she 
has previously declared to be, and taught her 
subjects to consider as property. Mr. Clark- 
son and his associates may declaim as long and 
as much as they please, but they cannot alter 
the laws of England by slanders and misrepre- 
sentations. 

The doctrine propogated, that Africa cannot 
be civilized while the West Indies exist as they 

* Report Committee Privy Council 1789, part 3. 
. f A strong term in the Scotch law signifying receivers of stolen goods, 
knowing them to be stolen. 



348 



are, is most mischievous and untrue. This is, 
indeed, not generally said in direct terms, but it 
is the natural and unavoidable inference from 
what is said. Instead of the latter being any 
hindrance to the civilization of the former, they 
may be made to accelerate that object greatly. 
The provisions, and live stock, with which Africa, 
on the Western coast abounds, may be carried to 
supply the wants of our West India Colonies, 
without depending upon, and having recourse to 
the United States. There is scarcely a tropical 
production known, that is not to be found most 
abundant in Northern Central Africa; more 
especially very fine cotton, indigo, gums, dye- 
woods, and dye-stuffs, coffee, &c. For all these 
we pay large sums to Foreign powers. The 
whole or a very large portion of each, which 
Britain requires, may be supplied from Africa, 
without in the smallest degree injuring, or inter- 
fering with the concerns of our West India Co- 
lonies. The culture of Sugar alone, could inter- 
fere with these possessions, but the population 
of Africa are too rude, and too poor to enter 
upon the cultivation of Sugar for a long time to 
come, nor would it be adviseable to turn their 
attention to it till more enlightened and civi- 
lized. 

There are only two modes by which Africa can 



349 



be civilized and enlightened, or raised from her 
present degraded stale, to listen to, or receive 
the rudiments of knowledge and Christian truth. 
The first is, by teaching her princes that they will 
receive more for the produce of their soil, than 
for the labourers who ought to cultivate it > 
but whom these princes now sell to cultivate 
foreign regions, or inhumanly put to death. 
Could this be done, the African authorities 
would soon put an end to the Slave trade (it 
cannot be effected without their cordial co-ope- 
ration), when the rudiments of civilization and 
social order would be planted amongst the de- 
graded population, and the Slaves by degrees, as 
in other countries, would rise to the rank of free 
men. So many obstacles, however, remain in the 
way of any such general operation of this system, 
as can accomplish this object, that success may 
well be despaired of. It may, however, prove a 
powerful auxiliary. The second mode is conquest 
by some formidable civilized power, who with 
her own strength and resources, would organize, 
as Britain has done in India, the disorganized and 
degraded elements of social order in Africa, and 
make these subdue the more barbarous and rude. 
This would prove the speediest, and most secure 
way to put down the Slave trade, and Slavery 
in Africa ; and to restrain, and finally to subdue, 



350 

those barbarous customs and passions which oc- 
casion both. From the British settlements in 
Africa conquest must soon proceed with rapid 
strides. The comforts of civilized life, growing 
in her settlements, will excite the cupidity of 
savages. They will attack, she will repel, con- 
quer, and subdue, till in Africa her word will be 
heard, and her authority dreaded and obeyed, 
in the remotest part of that country. But all 
these things may be carried on and effected 
without sacrificing our West India Colonies. 
As we light up knowledge and civilization in 
Africa, we need not extinguish both in the 
islands of the Charaibbean Ocean, and the 
Gulph of Mexico. However much it may be 
lamented, still there is too much reason to fear 
that like other barbarians, the ignorant popula- 
tion of Africa, can only be raised to the bles- 
sings and advantages of freedom through per- 
sonal Slavery, and those of them are the most 
likely to reach that desirable point who may be 
placed under the authority of Christian masters. 

Another and fatal source of error in those who 
project plans for the government of negroes is, 
that they suppose and believe that the mental 
and corporeal powers of the inhabitants of the 
torrid zone, but more especially African negroes, 
are equal to those of the hardy population of 



351 



the more Northern portion of the temperate 
zone, where the rigours of the seasons compel 
them to be industrious and active. The negroe 
—the inhabitant of the torrid zone, has no such 
excitement. He is ignorant of the luxuries or 
comforts of civilized life ; the spontaneous pro- 
ductions of his soil and climate, supply his simple 
wants. He lives regardless of the future, and 
although the introduction of civilization, know- 
ledge, and above all christian knowledge, if 
these can be introduced, would unquestion- 
ably work a great change in his character, 
conduct, and pursuits, still he will lag far be- 
hind the active and intelligent native of Eu- 
rope, in all that exalts and enobles mankind. 

What is it that has rendered the scheme for 
the total abolition of the Slave trade ineffectual ? 
It is that Europe has acted upon false data, with 
regard to the state of Africa, and the African 
character ; and that falsehood, misrepresentation, 
and declamation, were substituted for reason, 
and truth. What will render the plans for the 
melioration of the Slaves in our Colonies, not 
only abortive, but attended with the deepest in- 
jury to themselves and this country ? The same 
system of declamation, falsehood, and misrepre- 
sentation, which leads the mind astray from the 
safe path, and makes it reject the counsels of expe- 



352 



rience, and the advice of those who are the most 
capable of giving advice, from their intimate 
knowledge of all the facts and bearings of the 
question. Mere honest intentions will not do in 
such a case. The best, when blindly impelled, 
may produce the most mischievous consequences. 
No peaceful or prosperous results can ever flow 
from plans taken up and formed upon interested 
principles, exaggeration, misrepresentation, and 
falsehood. Yet all these are, at present, set in 
array against our Colonies, and under their 
influence it is attempted to direct and govern 
them. 

And who, let me here ask, are the West In- 
dia Body, who are thus grossly calumniated 
and arrogantly trampled upon? Mr. Colquhoun 
calculated the value of the property in Great 
Britain to be ^2,700,000,000, and in the whole 
British empire to be ^4,000,000,000. The pro- 
perty in the West India Colonies cannot be less 
than ^200,000,000, and if we look at those in 
this country, who are really the owners of that 
property, and consider what property they have 
besides in this country, we shall find that the 
West India interest possess, at the lowest va- 
luation, above one-eighth part of the property 
of the United Kingdom. Shall this interest be 
trodden under foot by irresponsible, self-con- 



353 



stituted, prejudiced, interested, and lanatical 
societies, or patiently submit to be branded as 
they have been branded by the champions of 
these societies, as " the petty, contumacious) 
lawgivers — the white mob — the white oppres- 
sors — the white savages — liars — vipers — mon- 
sters — animals # " &c. &c. No ! 

Every projected melioration of the state of 
the bondmen in our Colonies, to be effectual 
and beneficial, must be, and can only be carried 
into effect by the vigilance of the executive go- 
vernment and the authority of the Colonial le- 
gislatures, and, above all, by and with the cor- 
dial co-operation and consent of the masters. 
To calumniate and revile these is not the way to 
obtain that co-operation. Leave it to them, to 
the government, and to time, and the work — 
the good is done. Any interference by inter- 
mediate, irresponsible authority, can only retard 
it and produce mischief. Laws enacted in this 
country for possessions 4000 miles distant, will 
be more apt to be evaded and abused than laws 
framed in those possessions. 

Mr. Cropper and his friends state that " if 
there is any difference, our power is more firm 
over the East India population, than over that of 

* See Reports and publications of the African Institution. — Reasons 
for a Registry, 8fc. Sfc. 

a a 



354 



the West.' 5 To this assertion I at once answer — J 
no. Looking only at the numerical strength, it 
is 100 times firmer over the latter than over the 
former. But when we reflect that the popula- 
tion of the West India Colonies, with the ex- 
ception of Jamaica, dwell in insulated commu- 
nities of from 20,000 to 40,000, and only 4,000 
miles distant from the Mother Country which 
controuls the ocean that surrounds them, and 
that the East India population, amounting to 
120,000,000 dwell condensed and in constant 
and easy communication with each other, and 
that this vast population is 20,000 miles dis- 
tant from us, it must be evident that our hold 
over the West Indies is stronger than our hold 
over the East, in the proportion of 1000 to one. 
With a population hostile to us from religious 
principles, hating us as foreigners and masters, 
and with 150,000 native troops, armed and dis- 
ciplined in the European art of war, it is clear, 
to use the words of the Edinburgh Review, that 
we may lose our Indian empire as quickly as "a 
frigate or a fort." But the West Indies (keep 
us only clear of negro insurrection and conse- 
quent destruction of property) we must continue 
to govern, while we rear our heads independent 
amongst independent nations. 

In turning our attention to the productive la- 



355 



bour of 78,000 free people of colour in our West 
India Colonies, it may be asked where is it? 
Can the enemies of the Colonies point out, in 
any one island, the article that the coloured free 
population, by agricultural labour, raise for ex- 
portation to benefit the shipping, commerce, or 
revenue of the parent state? If they can, let 
them do so, even from their favourite "farm of 
experiment" — Trinidad*." In Cuba a great 
mass of the population are free, and yet I be- 
lieve I may safely assert, that the whole export- 
able produce of that island is produced by the 
labour of Slaves. In the Brazils I believe the 
fact will be found to be the same. 

In turning our attention to the productive in- 
dustry of the East, as contrasted with that of 
the West, it will be found, by looking at the 
exports and imports of each, that 841,000 per- 
sons in the West Indies produce more than 
120,000,000 of people do in the East. If we 
compare the productive industry of the eman- 
cipated blacks in St. Domingo, we perceive that 
it sinks into nothing before the productive 
industry of the Slaves in our Colonies, and 

* On this point I wish to be understood as speaking generally. I am 
aware that a few individuals here and there cultivate a little coffee and 
cotton, but the quantity is so small, as scarcely to deserve notice. Their 
doing so, also shews that there is no law to prevent, them, nor any hi. 
ance but their own indolence 



356 



taking the difference of population into account, 
is nearly as eight to one in exports,, and four to 
one in imports. And if we compare the pro- 
ductive industry of the population of our West 
India Colonies with that of 17,000,000 ofpeople 
in South America, we shall find that the former 
is very nearly equal to the latter, if it does not 
exceed it. Nay more, if we take the exports 
and imports of the United Kingdom, and its po- 
pulation, and contrast them with the exports 
and imports of our West India Colonies, and 
their population, we shall find, that with a po- 
pulation of only one twenty-fourth part, the latter 
import one-sixth and export above one-fourth 
of the amount that the former does. If we con- 
trast the imports and exports of Ireland with 
the imports and exports of the West Indies, 
we shall find that the latter, with only one-eighth 
of the population, export one-third more pro- 
duce, and import almost as much as Ireland. 
If we carry the contrast to the United States, 
we shall find that, with a population of only one- 
thirteenth part, the West India Colonies ex- 
port nearly as much, and import, for internal 
use alone, to the extent of about one half the 
the import of these active commercial states. In 
proportion to the exports and imports of our 
North American Colonies, the productive indus- 
try of our West India C olonies, with a population 



357 



of less than one -half, amounts in exports to five 
times the other, and in imports to triple. And 
to take another, perhaps more striking point of 
comparison, the following tables will place these 
points in a clearer point of view. 

Comparative exports and imports, from the British and American official 
financial Report, for 1823; and from the Report of the Foreign Trade 
Committee, and East India Report, &c. 

Exports to all 
Imports from parts of Britain, 
all parts, prod. & manuf. Population. 
Great Britain and Ireland * . . £ 30,500,000 £36,968,963 20,000,000 

Retained of imports 21,300,000 — — 

West India Colonies f 7,000,000 10,000,000 841,000 

Do. retained and consumed . . 5,000,000 — — 

'^edTfco^ed' 1 } «.™.«" 1>™>™ 

West India Colonies 7,000,000 10,000,000 841,000 

United States J. 

Exports to all 
Imports from parts of America 

all parts. prod. & manuf. Population. 
Imports retained and consumed £11,340,091 £ 10,609,534 11,000,000 

^^^m^!!!!?^ } 5 > 000 > 000 10,000,000 841,000 

East 

* The British imports are taken at the official valuation — the exports 
at the declared value, because in the official value, there is evidently a 
prodigious error, thus — the official value of cotton goods exported, is 
£26,920,135, but the declared value only £ 14,534,253. 

f In this sum I include the exports and imports, to and from the United 
States, and the British North American Colonies. The estimation is 
rather beknv than above the mark. Thus the average exports from 
Britain to the British West Indies are £5,800,000, and the imports from 
the United States and British North America certainly exceed £1,200,000 
annually. 

X In this comparative statement I have kept to the amount of native 
produce and manufactures exported, and foreign imports retained for 
home or internal consumption. The exports of foreign goods were 
£6,144,355. The dollar is estimated at is. 6d. 



358 



East Indies. 
Imports from 
all parts. 

China £1,701,405 

United States 876,268 

Britain, Official Value 2,900,000 

Persian and Arabian Gulphs \ , ,„ ft ftnA 
and Eastern Isles . J 1 » 5UU ) U00 

Total * £6,987,673 

West India Colonies 7,000,000 



Exports to 
all parts. 

£2,128,745 
1,446,488 
3,391,160 

1,600,000 



Population. 



£8,566,393 120,000,000 
10,000,000 841,000 



South America. — British Trade. 
Average three years ending 1820. 

Exports to. 

Brazils £ 2,683,201 

Spanish America, direct trade . . 733,491 

Do. Foreign West Indies 1,303,506 

Do. by Jamaica, Bahamas, &c. . . 2,382,000 

Total £ 7,192,108 



Imports from. 

£ 1,075,422 
308,303 
807,592 



£2,191,117 



jV. B. The three first returns are from Parliamentary Paper, No. 274, 
Session 1822. — The next estimated from different returns. The direct 
trade to South America has increased since that period, but then the 
circuitous trade, by way of Jamaica, has proportionably decreased. 
What is stated under the head Foreign West Indies, includes Hayti, and, 
I presume, the Spanish possessions, through the medium of St. Thomas. 
The great difference between the exports and imports, arises no doubt 

from 

* Of the amount to the three last mentioned places I have at present 
no certain data. But I believe the sum stated is not far from the mark. 
The exports to the Arabian and Persian Gulphs from Bengal, were 
£111,685; and the total exports from Bengal, to all parts by sea 
£ 3,500,000. The exports of India to countries West of the Indus and 
North of the Himmaleyah chain, are very uncertain, but not very great. 
Still, with considerable allowance for these quarters, the exports and im- 
ports of Hindostan, are only on a par with the exports and imports of 
the British West Indies. 



359 



from the returns being made in bills and specie, and even that specie is 
raised by the labour of Slaves. Contrasted with the West Indies, the 
trade stands thus : — 

Exports, Pro. Imports. Population. 

AH South America £2,191,117 £ 7,102,198 17,000,000 

West India Colonies 10,000,000 5,000,000 841,000 

(Imports retained.) 

The bare fact of the immense productive in- 
dustry of the population of the British West 
Indies, as compared to that of other countries, 
negatives, in the most unanswerable manner, 
all the charges which their enemies bring against 
them. Oppression, cruelty, injustice, and bad 
government, have, in every country and in every 
age, destroyed the productive industry of every 
people. 

In contemplating the possible loss of our East- 
ern or Western empire, how greatly and how 
proudly does the scale preponderate on the side of 
our West India Colonies ? Were India to be lost 
to us, we should only lose the value of the exports 
to it for one or two years, not exceeding seven 
or eight millions, allowing that all were re- 
tained in India, and no part of the stock on 
hand or debts outstanding to be preserved or 
recovered. The destruction of our power in the 
West Indies, on the other hand, would be fol- 
lowed by the total destruction of all mercantile 
business, stock, and debts, and these, taken at 



360 



only two years, would be at least 15 millions of 
mercantile property ; while, in agricultural pro- 
perty, 200 millions would be totally and irre- 
trievably swept away. This contrast and this 
consideration ought to make Great Britain pause 
and retrace, while she yet may retrace her foot- 
steps. 

There is also this difference between the ex- 
ports from Great Britain to the West Indies 
and to the East Indies, that less than one-fourth 
of the exports to the former are re-shipped to 
the Spanish settlements, while three-fourths of 
the exports to the latter are re-shipped to the 
Eastern islands. 

The governments and people both of France 
and of the United States, but more especially the 
latter, are rejoicing at the measures pursued and 
recommended to be pursued in this country 
towards our fine Colonial possessions. They 
know and calculate if we do not and will not, 
that these measures, if persevered in, must 
produce the destruction of these possessions, 
and through them the overthrow of that political 
strength and naval and commercial rivalry and 
greatness which they oppose and fear. The 
United States, and Mr. Cropper and his Ame- 
rican commercial friends (hence the queries sent 
to America, hence the defences and speculations 



361 



and writings of Mr. Cropper) know well that 
the British name, and capital, and credit, once 
beaten down in the West Indies, whatever com- 
mercial advantages may at a future day be 
reaped from these possessions, will be thrown 
exclusively and irretrievably into their hands. 
We treat too lightly the ^progress which the 
Americans are making in their internal manu- 
factures. They come into competition with us 
in several articles in the Colonial markets. I 
may state as a fact, that in St. Domingo they 
have a preference and undersell us with soap, 
and of late merchants in Liverpool, engaged in 
that trade, have been obliged to put up the soap 
they export to St. Domingo in the same manner 
as the Americans, in order to insure its intro- 
duction into the market. The rising manufac- 
tures of the United States may be coarser than 
ours, but, if they are cheaper, the quality will be 
no objection to a half-civilized African, more 
especially as these Americans bring the kind 
of coarse articles, such as salt fish, boards, &c. 
which these rude people most prize ; and if the 
Slaves in our Colonies are led to emancipate 
themselves by force from the British sceptre, 
they will be led to give to the United States 
the preference in trade, on account of the hatred 
they will bear against this nation. 



362 



Will this country not open her eyes to these 
facts, and to the appalling catastrophe which 
the ignorance and presumption of some men 
are endeavouring to bring upon onr Colonies. 
We have no middle course to steer. We can- 
not advance a certain length, and when we have 
discovered that we are in the wrong path, then 
turn back and endeavour to regain the right 
one. No ! we cannot do this. Entered fairly in 
the course of error, we must be hurried along 
from bad to worse. The attempts then made 
to roll back the tide of anarchy and destruction, 
will but tend to accelerate the approach, and 
render more fatal the operation of these evils. 
British property, the British name, and Euro- 
pean civilization, will vanish in the tempest 
which folly and philanthropy have raised in the 
West Indies ; and the shock it will produce, to 
use the words of the Edinburgh Review, when 
reason guided its pen, will " shake to its base 
the whole Western wing of the European com- 
munity, and burst asunder the bonds which 
now hold the nations together." 

Without Colonies we cannot keep or main- 
tain a navy. Without a navy we cannot retain 
the dominion of the seas ; the possession of 
which power can alone enable us to rear our 
head as the umpire of nations, the invincible 



363 



protector of liberty, justice, and civilization 
amongst our own subjects, or the nations of 
the earth. The consequences of adopting the 
schemes of the anti-colonial party must prove 
most fatal. The shock which the loss of these 
possessions will create, will shake commerce to 
its foundations — deeply wound our recovering 
agricultural interests, impair the national credit, 
because it wounds most deeply the national 
strength, destroy the confidence of the country 
in the present administration, perhaps bring into 
power an anti-colonial party, in whom this com- 
mercial nation never could repose confidence, 
and who, from ignorance of her concerns, would 
lead her to become the laughing stock, and, at 
last, the prey of Europe. 

The prospect before the West India Colo- 
nies, is most disheartening and most appalling. 
The discussions in the House of Commons, 
arising from the undigested schemes of Mr. 
Buxton, have sown the seeds of discord be- 
tween the master and the Slave, and implanted 
insubordination deeply and strongly in the 
minds of the latter throughout the West Indies. 
The facts are indisputable. Mr. Buxton's 
rashness has produced a fatal insurrection in 
Demerara, attempts to rebel in Barbadoes, St. 
Lucia, Dominica, Grenada, and last, and the 



364 



most alarming of all, a deep plan for revolt in 
the great and important Colony, where the Slaves 
for centuries have remained faithful and obedient 
to their masters, and few can calculate the im- 
mense sacrifices which the Mother Country may 
be called upon to make to preserve, as appen- 
dages to her crown, these possessions. They 
can no longer assist themselves. The burden 
must now fall exclusively upon the parent state. 
Insurrection, devastation, and carnage, are not 
the only evils to which the C olonies are exposed 
by the projected measures. Their annihilation 
is certain, even without these awful scourges, 
unless the contemplated measures are abandoned. 
By these, their capital and their credit are an- 
nihilated. Two hundred millions of property, 
once transferable as the best security, is now 
reduced to a thing without a name — the pound 
sterling is reduced to a shilling, and that shil- 
ling, we are told, ought, or is to depend upon 
the will, and humanity, and charity of an anti- 
colonial faction, who boldly and unblushingly 
proclaim, that even to that miserable pittance 
(the wreck of their former fortunes) the West 
India Colonists hold "no legal title." Will the 
people of Great Britain not open their eyes to 
the guilt, the folly, the shame, and the danger 
of such monstrous doctrines. 



365 

The most prompt, clear and decided measures 
and declarations on the part of the British go- 
vernment can alone remedy the evils and remove, 
if it is not too late to remove, the danger. Un- 
less his capital is rendered secure, and his cre- 
dit restored, even if it is possible to place the 
latter upon the footing on which it formerly 
stood, all further improvement in the West In- 
dies is out of the question ; nor is this all, culti- 
vation must diminish, perhaps in many instances 
cease, for want of the funds to carry it on, and 
the Slaves be left to poverty and starvation,, 
because the master has neither funds, credit, nor 
supplies to support or relieve them. This is no 
exaggerated picture. It is indeed but a faint 
outline of the truth. I know properties which 
at this moment have neither a board nor a stave 
to make casks in which to put the Sugar they are 
about to make, nor the money nor the credit to 
procure them. The returns from the Colonies 
instead of being laid out in improvements will 
be kept by the mortgagee, and who can blame 
him? 

" Judge not lest ye be judged" — and " with 
the measure wherewith ye mete, it shall be mea- 
sured to you again," says the Highest Authority. 
By violating this commandment, Mr. Buxton, 
and Mr. Smith, and Mr. Cropper, have subjected 



366 



themselves to be judged • and though I do not 
mean to say that their objects are interested, 
yet, situated as they are in business, it ought 
to excite in their minds no surprise, if their 
fellow subjects, less perfect than they are, 
should suppose them to be actuated by similar 
selfish motives to those, which they assert, go- 
vern the actions of others, namely, private in- 
terest and a love of gain. Mr. Buxton stands 
in the foremost ranks to declaim against, and 
denounce what he calls a West India monopoly, 
while at the very moment he, as a brewer, is 
concerned in a trade which, as it is at present 
constituted, forms the greatest monopoly, and 
under the most galling and grinding fetters, ever 
witnessed in any country. Mr. William Smith 
of Norwich, one of the bitterest of the enemies 
of the Colonies, adopts the same strain of argu- 
ment and pursues the same line of conduct, at 
the moment when (if public report speaks true) 
he himself, or a branch of his family, with 
other colleagues, as distillers for the English 
market, hold and participate in one of the 
most injurious monopolies in the spirit trade 
that ever existed, to the injury of the revenue, 
the health and morals of the nation; from 
which they derive an extra gain of ^600,000 per 
annum ; by which they dictate the price of spirits 
to the people, and may dictate the price of grain 



367 



to the agriculturist, in the face, and in defiance 
of the efforts of this mighty and intelligent na- 
tion. It is this monopoly, this enormous gain, 
which enables them to buy up with £ 10,000 to 
each, every distiller in Scotland, who may enter 
for the English market. The Parliamentary 
commissioners inform us that the system here 
alluded to, is " notorious " Are our West India 
Colonists suffering every distress to be tram- 
pled upon by monopolists like these ? Neither 
of these gentlemen can deny, more especially 
the latter, these important facts. They stand 
incontrovertible, upon official investigation, and 
most fortunately, the eyes of the agricultural 
and landed interests of this country are now 
opened to the enormity of these abuses. The 
benefit to our agricultural interests by rectifying 
these would be incalculable ; and granting that 
the monopoly for the West India Colonial inte- 
rests were true, as it is not, still, Mr. Buxton, 
and Mr. William Smith, ought to be the last 
men in Britain to declaim against it, at least 
till they had washed their hands clear of all mo- 
nopolies, by which the revenues of their country, 
and the interests, health and morals, of their 
countrymen directly or indirectly suffer. 

Mr. Smith, endowed like other men, with the 
principles of worldly wisdom, perhaps calculates 



368 



that if he can overthrow the West India Colo- 
nies, and thereby take 7,000,000 gallons of 
Rum out of the British market, a greater quan- 
tity of British spirits, distilled by the fifteen 
monopolists in Great Britain, would be con- 
sumed, and a greater sum put into their 
pockets annually. Mr. Buxton as a brewer, 
calculates perhaps in the same way, and for a 
similar object. And Mr. Cropper may conceive 
that by ruining the West India Colonies, he 
will benefit the trade and speculations of his 
American friends in the Eastern States. Whe- 
ther such are the motives of these gentlemen, 
or not, I leave to the public and to their own 
consciences to determine. The secret springs 
which put in activity men's humanity, are not 
always hidden aud imperceptible. 

But whatever animadversions may be called for 
by conduct such as that to which I have alluded, it 
becomes of minor importance when contrasted 
with the conduct and proceedings of irresponsible 
societies, and their secret prompters and advisers. 
It is impossible to consider these without the 
deepest indignation, and a well-grounded fear 
for our individual safety, and our national inde- 
pendence. The public voice ascribes the first 
station in one of these societies to Mr. James 
Stephen, a Master in Chancery. His practice 



369 



should teacli him what justice, what equity is. 
Standing upon constitutional grounds, and claim- 
ing the privileges of a British subject, I would 
ask who is Mr. Stephen — what in the eye of the 
British constitution is the African Institution, or 
the Abolition Committee, or any other association 
who may combine, in order to agitate and irritate 
the public mind ? Where is the law that recog- 
nizes or invests them with powers and privileges 
beyond any one, even the meanest of their fel- 
low subjects ; or where is the statute to which 
they are amenable for their public conduct, 
should they, by their proceedings, bring loss 
and ruin upon their country? There is none. The 
Earl of Liverpool we know, and Earl Bathurst 
we know. They are his majesty's ministers, con- 
stitutionally chosen, and constitutionally ap- 
pointed, and amenable to that constitution under 
which we live, for all their conduct and all their 
proceedings, and all their advice. They are, 
readily and easily tangible, if they do what is 
wrong — if they neglect their duty, and endanger 
our property, our liberties, or our lives. The 
African Institution and Mr. Stephen and their 
other champions have no such responsibility. 
Their conduct, their proceedings, and their 
counsels, may plunge the empire, as they have 
plunged the West India Colonies, into anarchy 

Bb 



370 



and civil war, and yet no law can reach them, to 
punish the offence. And shall such men and 
such societies be allowed to beard the govern- 
ment of this great and mighty nation to mingle, 
as it is asserted they presume to do in measures 
which ought to come within the province of the 
ministerial advisers of the crown alone ; and to dic- 
tate and give counsel with respect to the govern- 
ment of the most important portions of our em- 
pire ? Surely not. The principle is so monstrous, 
and unconstitutional, and dangerous, that it re- 
quires only to be glanced at, to be put down by 
a general expression of scorn and indignation. 
The ministers of this country must not be 
trammelled by such intruders and irresponsible 
advisers. 

In the measures recommended by the anti- 
colonists in this country, and which they have 
had the influence to induce the government to 
pursue in order to put down the Slave trade, 
we have seen that they have been wrong. The 
measures have had a contrary effect. Half of 
the sums which we have paid to Foreign States, 
in order to induce them to abandon a trade 
which it is their interest to continue, if it had 
been expended in cherishing and supporting our 
Colonies by bounties on their produce when 
exported, in order to enable these Colonies to 



371 



compete with, and undersell the foreign Colo- 
nial cultivator in the European market, would 
have done more to pat an end to the Slave 
trade, than all the decrees and denunciations of 
all the potentates and powers of Europe. A dif- 
ferent policy has been adopted. Our Colonies 
have been trampled in the dust. Foreign nations 
and Sierra Leone contractors and agents have 
pocketed our money by millions, and the former, 
while they have filled their Colonies with Slaves, 
have laughed in their sleeve, and sneered at our 
credulity. 

The question for this country now to deter- 
mine, is not whether she shall invest capital in 
Slave Colonies, by establishing Slavery in them, 
but whether she shall preserve from destruction 
and misery the Slaves and their masters which 
she has encouraged to settle in her Colonies. 
This is the point to be kept in view. It may 
have been very wrong and very impolitic, con- 
sidering the circumstances which have occurred 
and are occurring in the world, to have vested 
British capital in Slaves and Slave cultiva- 
tion. But it has been done. Done by the ad- 
vice of the greatest and wisest statesmen that 
Great Britain has possessed. I have no wish to 
see this country establish new Slave Colonies, 
but I have no wish to see her destroy and ruin 
b b % 



372 



the old. Protection and judicious management 
may, after a lapse of ages, procure the emanci- 
pation of the Slaves in our Colonies, without 
danger to their masters or loss to the country 
of the capital there invested, and without dan- 
ger to the negroes themselves. But when that 
day comes, Great Britain must look to some other 
quarter of the world than that inhabited by her 
emancipated Slaves for the supply of Sugar 
which she receives, and the valuable trade which 
she at present carries on with that quarter of 
the world*. They may raise from the soil what 
tropical productions will supply their few wants, 
as other indolent natives of the torrid zone do, 
but they will raise no more. 

The cultivation of Sugar at no season can be 
carried on by fits and starts, as the whim and 
caprice of freed negroes may direct. The work, 
more especially during crop, must be carried on 
with regularity and without intermission. The 
season will not wait, and a week lost in March 
cannot be made up in June. The cane not 
taken off becomes of little use when the rains 
set in, and the attempt to take it off then, could 

* Even the Emancipation Committee admit the truth of this. " The 
Browns," says the scribe of that body, " consider themselves as rising in 
rank to the whites, and free negroes never think of hiring themselves 
to the planters to work in the field." — Negroe Slavery, page 52. 



373 

ft even be done, would be attended with a loss 
to the ensuing crop of the most serious kind. 
The master must have it in his power to carry 
on the work when and as he directs, not as his 
labourers please and direct him, otherwise the 
cultivation of Sugar, except in small quantities, 
as it is cultivated and spoiled in the East, must 
stand still, or be rendered extremely unpro- 
ductive. 

But if this country is determined that the Slaves 
in the West Indies shall be immediately eman- 
cipated, there is but one way by which it can be 
done consistently with justice or with the smallest 
prospect of success. Let the nation assume the 
whole property in the Colonies as her own — 
pay from the proceeds of the labour of the Slaves 
(then working to pay the expense of their free- 
dom) in annual instalments, the value of the 
property so assumed, with interest, till the whole 
amount is liquidated. Let this be the course 
with respect to the independent proprietor, and 
let those merchants who have advanced money on 
mortgages hold possession of the properties and 
carry on the business as they do now, till their 
claims are liquidated, when they may become the 
agents of government till the sums due to the 
proprietor shall be also paid. The negroes under 
such a system would be less inclined to revolt 



374 



and insubordination, for they would look upon 
the King as their master, whose power they con- 
sider it would be impracticable to resist. Hence 
they would more readily yield obedience to man- 
dates emanating from him. If any one, after the 
property was lodged under the national guaran- 
tee, should chuse to re-purchase his share and 
to incur the future risks, then the nation would 
be relieved of so much of her load. Then also 
under such a system, every one would have an 
opportunity of shewing his philanthropy by sup- 
porting restrictive systems, and large bounties 
to keep up the price of Colonial produce, in 
order that the nation might the more speedily re- 
deem her guarantee. It cannot be doubted that all 
our present anti-colonists would contribute 
most cheerfully by paying a high price for Sugar, 
when by doing so, they would be liberating 
800,000 persons from the chains of Slavery. 
No doubt this scheme presents some difficulties, 
but it is simple, and presents fewer difficulties 
than any other. In every other way in which 
the attempt at immediate emancipation may be 
made, injustice will be done to those interested, 
either by endangering or deteriorating the value 
of their property, or both. 

On the shoulders of the executive govern- 
ment of Great Britain rest the fate, and the 



375 



fortune of the Colonies. The executive go- 
vernment therefore, by their accredited and 
responsible servants, can alone lay before the 
British public such a full and fair represen- 
tation of the situation of these valuable pos- 
sessions, as it is safe for Great Britain to 
attend to, in regulating her conduct towards 
them. The work must not be taken out of the 
hands of the executive government. If the go- 
vernment deceives or misleads the public, an 
awful responsibility rests on its head, and the 
public know a safe and constitutional course to 
obtain redress. The nation has no such alterna- ' 
tive with irresponsible associations, or the secret, 
or the interested calumniator. 

To calumniate and defame the character of the 
West Indians is now become a regularly organ- 
ized system, and it is said a profitable trade. It 
is now looked forward to as the road to prefer- 
ment, wealth and honours, and whether the active 
members of the African Institution know this or 
not I will not pretend to determine, but the fact 
is no less certain, that by the cheap traffic of 
humanity carried on through that institution, 
men in our Colonies or immediately connected 
with them are taught, and teach others to look 
forward to, and to expect, through the influence 
of that body with the government of the parent 



376 



state, preferments or appointments of higher and 
more lucrative kinds. Without fear of con- 
tradiction I assert this to he the case, and the 
terrible consequences which must result from the 
operation of a system like this, may be con- 
ceived, but cannot be described. It is probable 
these pages may find their way to the Colonies, 
and if they do, they may come into the hands of 
some individuals of the character and stamp I 
mention, and if they do, it is to be hoped they 
will serve to convince them that they and their 
operations are known, and that a tremendous 
exposure under their own hands, unless their 
system is abandoned, will one day or other be 
laid before the eyes of the British empire. Let 
them not deceive themselves. The motives 
which impel them, and which in writing they 
avow, to mislead or to please, to gratify or to 
assist, the active directors of the African Insti- 
tution in their schemes, will not always remain 
hidden. — From more places than Dominica, evi- 
dence against themselves can be furnished, and 
under their own hands. 

Let the executive government of this country 
be on their guard against a system which, while 
it undermines their influence and authority, saps 
the foundations of Colonial security. The way 
to check and destroy the effects of this danger- 



377 



ous system is obvious and simple. Let the com- 
munications of these accusers of their brethren 
be submitted entirely and fairly by the African 
Institution to the public, and to the execu- 
tive government, and by the latter be trans- 
mitted to their accredited governors (passed 
over in the first instance) for their investigation 
and report: let this uniformly be done, as in 
the following instance, and the public may rest 
assured that they will not hear so much about 
Colonial misery and oppression # . If the object 

* LETTER FROM GOVERNOR BENTINCK. 

" King's-House, Berbice, May 26, 1817, 

" My Lord — I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your 
Lordship's dispatch of the 11th of January last, inclosing a document, 
said to contain a representation of the present state of Berbice. 

" Suspecting the source of this representation, and viewing its obvious 
tendency, I enquired of Mr. Wray, whether he knew any thing of the 
matter ; and he confessed to me, that the same memorandum had been 
framed by others, partly from letters written by him to Messrs. Macaulay , 
and Walker, the former secretary, and the latter agent, of the commis- 
sioners of crown estates here ; and partly from other letters, ' as to the 
writer of which Mr. Wray had nothing to say.' 

" I pursued my inquiries of this gentleman, and endeavoured to obtain 
as much of his knowledge as I could, in order, if possible, to detect and 
punish the aggressors. 

" Having minuted the information, I referred it to the individuals 
respectively named, and their answers having come in, I have directed 
the Fiscal to inquire further, and furnish me with his report and con- 
sideration on the subject. 

" I inclose provisionally a copy of my letter to his Honour, also the 
reply : and I hope by the next packet to be enabled to furnish your Lord- 
ship with the desired report. 



378 



is just and honourable, and if truth is adhered 
to, no one need be ashamed of his actions — no 
one need dread the results. 

** 1 need not dwell on the temper and colour of this document of Messrs. 
Wray and others, manufactured, as it will appear, in England ; as 
your Lordship will, I am assured, do me the justice to believe, that had I 
been didy informed of any irregularities, I should have exerted my power to 
prevent their recurrence ; but if Mr. Wray will confide all these to his 
own knowledge, and vent his imagination secretly to Messrs. Macaulay 
and Walker ; or, as it would appear, give imperfect accounts to the Fis- 
cal, with earnest request to indulge the offenders — * 

" The case of the negro George, I find on reference, to be briefly this : 
— At the period of the insurrection at Barbadoes, it was feared that the 
influence of the misguided there might extend itself to this coast, 
which being continental, would not have been so easily, if at ail 
subdued. 

" It was therefore deemed prudent, in the state of our population, that 
is, about 300 Europeans, and 25,000 Africans, to be vigilant, and pre- 
vent any unseasonable intercourse, lest they should combine and endanger 
our safety. 

" Accordingly, a burgher guard mounted every night, made patrols 
through the town and the suburbs, with orders to arrest every Slave found 
in the street after eight o'clock at night, and place them in the custody 
of the Under Sheriff (gaoler) till the morning, when, if nothing appeared 
against them, they were usually released on payment of gaol fees. 

" It was therefore incumbent on Mr. Wray, as a good inhabitant, not 
to have placed his hours in opposition, but to have them accord with the 
police of the town, more especially at a moment when the next might 
easily have laid us in the dust ; and if detaining his hearers beyond the 
regulated hour at night, he caused the transgression of the rules laid 
down for the observation of the colony at that ci'itical period, he has 
only himself to blame. 

" This was the case with George •> he going from Mr. Wray's house 
to that of his wife, was found in the streets an hour after the time pre- 
scribed, with an inefficient pass, being one which might have been im- 
properly applied ; he was arrested and confined according to custom, and 



379 



Let common sense be attended to. The white 
population of our Colonies go from this country. 
They are our sons and our brothers, they, in- 
variably, leave their native land at the age of 
manhood, with the character formed, and in 
general, with the mind stored with knowledge — 
uncorrupted — uncontaminated. Numbers of them 
return to this country after years of toil and in- 
dustry. Look at them wherever they are to be 
found, and in all the relations of civil and of 
social life — as members of our legislature, as 
magistrates— husbands, parents, brothers, friends 
— say, are they behind their brethren in any 
thing that can adorn the human character — be- 
hind those who so mercilessly abuse and defame 
them ? The miserable subterfuge will not avail 
the thoughtless calumniator, that it is against 

the next morning, nothing appearing against him, he might have been 
released like others, on payment of the gaol fees (I believe 5s. lOd.) At 
the time this happened, I was not in town. The agent, Mr. Scott, wrote 
to my Secretary, who desired, as the conduct of the guard was impeached, 
a particular statement of all that had taken place, which he promised to 
present to me on my arrival in town. And Mr. Wray, rather than pay 
the expense attendant on the custody of George (I cannot say with how 
much obstinacy and humanity) suffered the poor negroe, whose trans- 
gression he appears to have been the cause of, to remain in gaol for two 
or three days. 

" The whole will appear properly verified by the Fiscal's report. 
I have, &c. 

H. W. BENT1NCK.*" 
* Parliamentary Papers. 



380 



the K loiver classes of tvhites in the Colonies" 
that their anathemas are directed, because what 
are the lower classes of whites in the Colonies 
to-day become the higher classes to-morrow ; and 
those who return to settle in this country have 
generally risen to independence and superior 
rank in society, through the different gradations 
established in the Colonies # . 

* The following animated observations upon this subject, from the 
pen of one of our ablest periodical publications, is subjoined. 

" We have no need whatever to take our opinion of these fellow-sub- 
jects of ours from the flimsy tracts, and extravagant declamations, of 
people we know so little about, as these institutions and associations. 
The whole surface of society here at home, is studded over with men and 
women, who have spent great part of their lives in our West Indian Colo- 
nies. Whole cities here in the midst of us, are occupied by people who 
have either done so, or who are connected by the closest ties of blood 
and friendship with such as have clone so. Look, for example, at Liver- 
pool — look at Glasgow — look at the City of London. Are not these 
places crammed with West Indians ? — Are they not overflowing with a 
population of these men and women, who, if we believe Wilberforce's 
ipse dixit, are the most perfect brutes — cannibals — savages — wild beasts 
— so many incai'nations of every bad, gross, and cruel passion that ever 
sullied the bosoms of the children of Adam ? — The fact is indisputable 
— the people are here — we see them every day — we must all have more 
or less associated with them, and their families — We suffer our wives 
and children to mix as freely as possible with them and with theirs — we 
dine with them — we drink with them — we hear their freest sentiments. 
If we are Christians, we sit in the same churches with them — if we are 
magistrates, we sit on the same bench with them — if we are jurymen, 
they are our fellows — we cross them and jostle them at every turn— we 
live among them, and die among them. And do we know nothing of 
these people? — Are their true characters a mere blank to us ? — Do we 



381 



When Mr. Wilberforce, duped by false in- 
formation, attempts to make an "affecting and 
impressive appeal to the people of Great Bri- 
tain, by requiring what would their feelings be 
to see their mothers, wives, and daughters, la- 
cerated by the whip, as he maintains, females 
without cause and without responsibility, are 
lacerated in the West Indies ; he omits to re- 
quire one thing of them, namely, what their 
feelings would be if their wives, mothers, and 
daughters deserved to be whipped ; and another 
thing, namely, to remind them that their mo- 
thers, wives, and daughters are whipped under 
the laws and within the bounds of the United 
kingdom. The following Parliamentary return 

really look upon ourselves as such egregious idiots, that we are to be- 
lieve nothing about these people, except what we are told in the pam- 
phlets of the African Institution, and the Mitigation Society, who hold 
meetings, and make speeches once a-year, in the City of London Tavern ? 
Why, this is really something stranger than strange — In old times, we had 
books full of Cannibals and Anthropophagi, and men who do wear their 
heads beneath their shoulders ; but these books always laid the scene of 
their murders at a pretty tolerable distance from those who were to read 
them. Here, thanks to tho spirit of modern modesty, things are altered 
with a vengeance. — " Nous avons change tout cela-' — Here are books 
full to the brim of such monsters ; and the monsters, they tell us, are 
rubbing the elbow of every mother's son of us. — Well, and if it be so, 
sure it is nobody's fault but our own if we do not see them. 

" But see them we do not. — No, not one horn, hoof, claw, or bloody 
muzzle — not one. It would seem, that Trinculo is after all right, to the 
very letter, when he says, that ' in England, a monster makes a 
man / " — Blackwood's Magazine, for October. 



382 



proves the fact*; and Mr. Grey Bennet, or 
Mr. Wilberforce (who never makes any inquiry 
about whipping white people) may find out, by 
another return, how many of those persons thus 
judicially whipped, were females. Besides, are 
not the wives, mothers, and daughters of Bri- 
tons put, by the offended laws of their country, 
in tread mills, on board of hulks — separated 
from their families and friends, and transported 
as felons, to labour in fetters in a very distant 
country. I am not saying this is wrong or 
unjust; I am merely adducing the facts to 
oppose to the whining lamentations about pun- 
ishments being inflicted upon female Slaves in 
our Colonies. I have stated, however, that the 
punishment of females in our Colonies is become 
very rare; that in many of them the whip, as 

* Number of persons sentenced to be whipped, and the number ac- 
tually whipped in Great Britain, during the following years : — 

Sentenced: Wliipped. 

1816 826 793 

1817 1,092 1,117 

1818 1,247 1,202 

1819... 1,122 1,089 

1820 1,036 1,008 

1821 1,127 1,104 

1822 677 646 

Total - - 7,127 6,959 

Of these, by far the greater proportion were above twenty years of 
age. — Parliamentary Papa-, No. 280, Session 1823. 



383 



the instrument to inflict it, is entirely laid aside; 
and in this I am borne out by competent official 
authority. u The punishment of females by 
flogging " says Sir Charles Brisbane, u has, 
on almost every estate, been long clone away 
with* " u The females are never exposed and 
whipped in the manner represented; many of 
those who asserted this as fact, knew the 
reverse" f. "As regards the punishment of 
females, corporeal punishment/ 5 says an au- 
thentic communication from Barbadoes, " is 
never inflicted but on the shoulders ; and if 
any man, whether he be the owner or manager, 
was to flog a female indecently, or severely on 
her shoulders, that man would be considered as 
having disgraced himself and would be shun- 
ned in society accordingly." 

Mr. Wilberforce in his " Appeal to the Peo- 
ple of Great Britain," has been led upon the 
authority of some secret assassin of character, to 
make the sweeping charge, that in our Colonies 
u married men openly keep mistresses;" and the 
shameless writer of the notes on the debates on 
Mr. Buxton's motion, aggravates the bitter libel 
thus : — " The married man in Jamaica who keeps 
his brown or black mistress, in the very face of 

* St. Vincent's Official Memorial, page 6. 
f St. Vincent's Legislature Report, page 44. 



384 

his wife and family and of the community, has 
generally as much outward respect shewn him, 
and is as much countenanced? visited and re- 
ceived into company especially, if he be a man 
of some influence in the community, as if he had 
been guilty of no breach of decency or dere- 
liction of moral duty 

The writer of the above article, if ever he 
ivas in the West Indies, must have associated 
with a strange state of society, a state of society 
such as does not at present exist there ; and if 
this writer has never been in the West Indies, 
he may rest assured, that he has been duped by 
some unconscionable knave, to publish the bit- 
terest libel, to inflict the deepest wound, and 
most cruel injury that could be inflicted upon 
the feelings and character of an intelligent 
and highly respectable class of his fellow sub- 
jects. As the charge stands, it is on the part 
of some one or other, a most atrocious falsehood. 
I would just ask Mr. Wilberforce, if no married 
men in Great Britain keep mistresses, and if 
they are not " visited and received into so- 
ciety ; n and I will assert, that very rarely, in- 
deed, if at all, (certainly not openly) is such 
a u dereliction of moral duty' 5 witnessed in the 
West Indies ; and I state without the fear of 

* DeJ^ate on Buxton's Motion, page 152. 



385 



contradiction, and from personal knowledge of 
many Colonies, that wherever any man so far 
forgets himself and his moral duty, or is even 
suspected of doing so, he would be, and is 
universally condemned by every class of the 
community. 

Men who seek to abandon their moral duties, 
or walk in the ways of evil and licentiousness, 
may find the means of doing so and associating 
with like companions every where, in every 
kingdom, and in every country ; and in no place 
have such characters a wider field for a violation 
of their moral duties than in the British metro- 
polis, under the eyes and within the knowledge 
of that class of men, who, it would appear, can 
see evil distinctly only on the other side of the 
Atlantic. The hideous scenes of licentiousness 
described as prevailing openly in the West In- 
dies, are unknown to those who are acquainted 
with these countries. I aver as a fact, (hundreds, 
I believe, can corroborate it) that, during a re- 
sidence of fourteen years in that part of the 
world, during which period I visited the capi- 
tals of more Colonies than one, I never saw a 
white, black, or brown female intoxicated, or 
whom I could from her conduct suppose to be a 
prostitute. Half an hour's perambulation in the 
chief streets of London, and in the streets of any 



386 



great town in this country, will force upon the 
sight thousands of females in the lowest depth 
of wretchedness and moral degradation. 

I do not adduce these things as a justification, 
or even for the purpose of extenuating the im- 
morality which does prevail in the West Indies ; 
but the contrast has been forced upon me, and I 
cannot shut my eyes to the fact, that upon a fair 
comparison of female decency in England and the 
Colonies, the result would be in favour of the 
Colonies. It is without surprise, but with indig- 
nation, that I read the charge made on the authority 
of the Rev. Mr. Cooper, that it is as customary 
for a stranger, when visiting upon a plantation, to 
" require the servant who attends him to bring 
him a girl, as it is to desire him to bring a can- 
dle." That such violations of the rites of hos- 
pitality and decorum may secretly take place, 
is as possible in the Colonies as in England; 
but that they occur generally or openly, is 
another falsehood added to the number of those 
already circulated by the anti-Colonial party. 
I would, however, beg leave to ask the " licen- 
tious" accuser, did he never hear of decorum 
and hospitality being so outraged and violated 
under the roof of his friends in this country — 
never hear of the maid servant being seduced 
by the master of the house, or some visiting 
friend ? Or would he think it fair, from such con- 



387 



duct, to judge and condemn the manners and 
conduct of the whole community? The individual 
who could, in the West Indies, so far forget what 
was due to decency and hospitality would never, 
I aver, insult them again, in a similar way, 
under the same roof, in the West Indies. But 
once during my residence there did I hear of 
such rudeness, and that was on the part of the 
master of a ship from London, who being re- 
ceived and kindly treated in the house of an 
unmarried and respectable gentleman in one of 
the Windward Islands, made the experiment. 
He knows the result. He was dismissed with 
ignominy and contempt, and never after, I be- 
lieve, shewed his face in that Colony. I know 
not if his owners in London knew the cause, but 
this I do know, that their interest felt it. 

In the conduct of the calumniators of our 
West India Colonies, there are some things 
very remarkable. Against the state of society, 
and the conduct of the free people in them, 
language is ransacked for terms of cruelty 
and reproach, and every thing that can be 
hatched by ignorance or malice against them 
is greedily swallowed and believed. Change 
the scene. Let the wildest, most ignorant, 
most licentious and most ferocious savage 
in Asia or America, but more especially in 
c c 2 



388 



Africa, be brought upon the carpet as meriting: 
our care and assistance, and his actions are 
viewed with unlimited compassion, all that is 
bad in them is concealed — and the population 
become our " poor African brethren." Deal 
justly I say — why screen one and expose another? 
Why dwell on West Indian errors and trans- 
gressions, while India, that strong-hold of ini- 
quity — as Mr. Wilberforce calls it, remains un- 
touched? There must be a reason for this. 
What is it ? Partiality, injustice, or both ? 

The West India Colonists do not deny that 
there is licentiousness amongst them — they do 
not mean to say that no human being does 
wrong — but they deny that the former exists to 
the extent mentioned among either bond or 
free — or resembles the hideous caricatures ex- 
hibited by the sociey in question; and they aver, 
that when cruelty or crime rear their heads 
amongst them, these are punished with as much 
impartiality as in other parts of the British em- 
pire — and they are ready to prove before the 
British nation, and their bitterest enemies, that 
so far from error, cruelty, and licentiousness — 
above all, cruelty or injustice to Slaves — reign- 
ing among them uncontrouled — " encouraged" — 
approved of — or unpunished ; these things 



389 



are generally condemned and publicly execrated. 
They dare the proof — they defy their accusers. 

The Colonists assert, and they appeal to go- 
vernment for the truth of the assertion, that 
they most anxiously and most eagerly pursue the 
melioration of the condition of their Slaves, and 
that there is nothing which could be required of 
them by the government for this purpose, unless 
obviously dangerous and unjust, which they 
have not been, and are not still ready to per- 
form ; but at the same time they oppose, and 
solemnly protest against, and condemn that 
system of unmitigated calumny and falsehood, 
which holds them up to their fellow-subjects 
and the world as monsters of iniquity— not 
raised above savages in the scale of civilization 
— level with the brutes of the field ; and declare 
that as men, and as British subjects, entitled to 
their just rights as such, that they will never 
yield to, but resist and repel, every interference 
with their institutions by irresponsible societies, 
prompted by faction and misled by designing 
men. 

Such is the constitution of society in the West 
Indies, that the executive government alone 
can direct with advantage or without danger. 
The executive government alone can be so cor- 
rectly informed, as to enable them to judge im- 



390 



partially. Such societies as that of which the la-* 
bours have come under our review, shew in the 
most glaring colours, that they draw their in- 
formation from hear-say, or from the most pollu- 
ted sources — from direct malice or disappointed 
ambition — from channels so impure, that in nine 
instances out of ten they dare not, or are ashamed 
to shew their authority, while even the informa- 
tion thus obtained, is when sent abroad arranged 
for stage effect, and by their anonymous writers 
sharpened with all the exaggerations which de- 
clamation can supply, or michief invent. They 
treasure up the bad — they reject the good — to 
the former alone will they listen, and the West 
India Colonists have only to be accused, to be 
condemned without consideration or remorse. 
Of this most unfair and un-Christian spirit in 
their proceedings, the Colonists complain, and 
justly complain ; and it would be to suppose 
human nature different from what it is, or from 
what it ever can be, were we to expect the 
Colonists to cease to view with jealousy and 
alarm, every movement made by men, who so 
cruelly injure and defame them. 

Whilst these societies are actuated and impel- 
led by such feelings as their publications pro- 
claim, every measure pursued or adopted by 
them, must end not only in disappointment, but 



391 



tend to retard,, if not altogether prevent, the very 
results which they so anxiously aim at. These 
horrific descriptions of the condition and disposi- 
tions of men and society in the Colonies, must tend 
to give every respectable person in this country 
such an idea of these countries, that no fathers 
of families will allow their children, male or fe- 
male, to go to such places, nor will any respect- 
able clergyman or teacher of youth embark to 
live amongst them. The consequence, if not 
counteracted, must be, that knowledge and intel- 
ligence must be driven from these Islands, and 
savage life trample under foot civilization and 
improvement. The blow which the political 
rashness of a Buxton has already given to the 
security and prosperity of our Colonies, can 
scarcely be remedied, even by the wisdom and 
firmness of a Liverpool and a Canning. 

Traduced and vilified as they have been, it is 
to be hoped that the British spirit which ani- 
mates the breasts of our West India Colonists, 
and which has induced them to stand by their 
country in the hour of her greatest danger — that 
this spirit will not forsake them, but that to the 
suggestions which have been made to them by 
the government, however just these may be, 
their firm, but respectful reply will be — -we 
have always cheerfully obeyed you — we are 



392 



still ready to do so, but we have been most 
unjustly and cruelly aspersed — our characters 
are in your hands, and till you vindicate us, 
we must stand still and refuse co-operation. We 
owe this to ourselves and to our country. Be- 
fore the British legislature let ourselves and 
our accusers appear — let our character, con- 
duct, and the state of our Slaves, be there in- 
quired into ; if guilty let us suffer — if innocent 
let us be cleared, and no longer tormented. 

The British empire demands this inquiry. The 
public can never rest satisfied, till the falsehood 
or truth of these charges is officially and publicly 
put beyond the power of malice, or misrepre- 
sentation — to cavil at or dispute. 

I would ask the champions of the emancipa- 
tion Societies — I would put it to them as men 
and as Christians — whether they can for a mo- 
ment suppose that any human being — even " our 
African brethren" would cordially unite with, or 
receive as a boon, any thing from hands which 
so grossly defame them ? Was the course 
which they adopt, the way chosen by the Sa- 
viour of the tvorld, to address even the great- 
est sinner of our species — the way by which he 
won men to forsake the evil of their ways, and 
turn to him that they might live? No! no! 
Let the anti-Colonists treat their fellow subjects 



393 



as men — let them treat them with the feelings of 
Christians, not those of assassins of character, and 
they will find that in every thing that is good they, 
as fellow-subjects, will go hand in hand with them. 

As in every other country in the world, there 
is abundant room for moral and religious im- 
provement — so there is abundant room for the 
diffusion of religious knowledge in the West 
Indies. The active exertions of the West In- 
dians both at home and abroad, to further 
these objects, and the disinterested efforts of 
religious societies in this country to carry the 
same objects into effect, will, no doubt, proceed 
with undiminished ardour, and with increasing 
success. I may, however, be permitted to re- 
mark, that to diffuse knowledge amongst the 
West Indian population, Schoolmasters of su- 
perior knowledge and education are even more 
wanted than religious instructors. Without the 
former, the labours of the latter will, I fear, 
be slow. This truth is pressed upon the at- 
tention of all who feel interested in those mat- 
ters, as absolutely and indispensibly necessary 
to carry their beneficent views into effect. By 
the establishment of well-educated schoolmasters 
in these Colonies, all classes will be benefited. 
The want of instruction in the superior branches 
of education in the Colonies is felt most severely 



394 



by the white families in the W est Indies. The 
expense of sending their children for education 
to Great Britain is such, that only persons of 
large fortunes, such as are now become very rare 
in the West Indies, can possibly support it. 

Another important and indispensable consi- 
deration is, that the clergymen sent out to the 
Colonies should be of the established churches 
of England or of Scotland. I am far from un- 
der-valuing, much less from attaching blame or 
want of ability generally to the members of other 
religious persuasions which settle in our Colonies, 
but it must be evident to every one who will 
take the trouble to think, that it will be attended 
with danger to have the Slave taught that while 
he is, his master is not, marching in the right 
path to Heaven. To render the union be- 
tween master and Slave complete, their religious 
tenets must be the same. It will be attended 
with imminent danger to disunite them, and with 
still greater danger if their religious teachers, 
should interfere so far in the civil relations 
between master and Slave as to make the latter 
look to them as a power superior to their master. 
That such an ignorant and dangerous course of 
proceeding has been adopted by some mission- 
aries in the West Indies cannot admit of a doubt. 
The fatal insurrection in Demerara has written 



395 



that fact in letters of blood — in characters which 
will not easily be obliterated* It is with much 

* The annexed extracts from a letter from the pen of a clergyman in 
Demerara, the original of which I have seen, will fully substantiate the 
truth of what I state. 

" For many months past an unusual bustle and activity were seen to 
prevail in the different chapels throughout the Colony, where nightly 
meetings Avere held, entirely for religious purposes, two or three times 
a week, and where certain mysterious announcements were made about 
freedom, which startled the minds of some free people of colour. The 
negroes declared, that if they might not go to Mr. Smith's chapel, which 
was many miles distant, they would go to none — that they did not much 
care about preaching — that their eyes had been opened, and they 
knew what to do. — Mr. Elliot, a missionary from the London Society, 
laid an imperative order upon all Slaves to attend his chapel, telling them 
that orders had come out from Britain, that the whip should be thrown 
away, that besides Sunday they were to have a day or half a day in the 
week to themselves, and that all these advantages had been secured to 
them through the influence and exertions of Mr. Davies, a third 
missionary, from the London Society, now in England. The negroe 
Telemachus, who acted as commander-in-chief of the blacks, and was 
taken prisoner, positively asserts that he and his companions have done 
nothing wrong ; they have only done that which they were exhorted to 
do ; that for the last twelve months it has been preached to them at 
the Chapel (Mr. Smith's) that they were free ; that the King had given 
them theiv freedom, but that the Governor and the planters their masters 
kept it back, and that it was their own fault if they did not step forward 
and assert their rights. — Pamphlets of a most pernicious tendency, printed 
in England, and brought here in parcels by sailors, were distributed among 
the blacks, in which pamphlets they were called upon to rise up and re- 
dress their wrongs. 

" There can be no doubt that the authors of the conspiracy aimed at 
making a second St. Domingo of Demerara, and of establishing them- 
selves in high stations under the new order of things. This I could not 
bring my mind to believe till very lately. It was so improbable, so con- 
trary to the ideas I had connected with the character and views of a 
minister as preacher of the Gospel, and above all, a missionary, educated, 



396 



satisfaction, therefore, that I learn that the in- 
tended religious establishments for the Colonies 

appointed, paid and protected by the London Missionary Society, who, 
at the peril of his life had come to this country, purely for the conver- 
sion of the Heathen — it was so improbable I say, that such a person 
should be actuated by such conduct and ambitious views, that I was per- 
haps the last individual to give credit to the story ; but now appearances 
are so very strong and the train of events and circumstances so distinct- 
ly traced to Bethel Chapel and its minister, that I am forced to the 
above very harsh conclusion. It is now understood from the confession 
of the criminals, that two or three agents under the direction of Mr. 
Smith (viz. a negroe butcher, named Bob Murray, the coachman of 
Jacobus Murteres, Esq. &c.) have been going about the Colony preparing 
the minds of the negroes for a revolt. — Under pretence of instructing the 
negroes, they (Smith and his colleagues) interfered between master and 
servant, and weakened instead of strengthening the ties that bound 
them together. In other words, that they took the power out of the 
hands of the master and rendered him dependent upon them, for the in- 
fluence he was to possess over his own Slaves ; the minister being the 
umpire in all disputes, and the mediator when a reconciliation took 
place. The missionaries also, far from acting up to their pretensions and 
seeking the conversion of sinners as their sole object, e.rercised a domi- 
nion over the negroes which had a most deceitful appearance, and levied 
eontributions under a variety of forms, which rendered it obvious that 
they were not a little anxious to augment their income. Now, as they 
had all salaries from the London Missionary Society, and most of them 
received annual grants of one hundred joes {£2,2,0 currency) from the 
Colony, I contended, that they ought to take nothing whatever from the 
negroes, but to instruct them gratis, and to throw themselves on the ge- 
nerosity of the masters, who, if they were pleased with the industry and 
good behaviour of the Slaves would liberally reward their instructors, 
and find it their interest to render the situation of missionaries still more 
comfortable ; and I objected and continue to object to the monstrous ab- 
surdity of collecting money among the negroes to be transmitted to the 
London Missionary Society, for the purpose of propagating the Gospel 
in Africa and other parts of the Globe. This appears to me to be such a 
piece of inconsistency and nonsense, that I know not in what terms to 
gpeak of it." (Letter, dated Demerara, 2\st~29th August 1823.) 



397 



are to be filled up by members of the* esta- 
blished church. This is a judicious proceeding, 
and will be attended with the most beneficial 
results. The religious teachers sent out amongst 
a Slave population must be men of general know- 
ledge, of great prudence and discretion — they 
must, in short, be men who will feed their pupils 
with " milk" not with u strong meat" — men like 
the Wesleyans, who never interfere with the 
civil relations subsisting in society — men like 
the Moravians, who teach, as a paramount duty, 
industry, frugality, attention to the interests of 
their masters and the support of their families, 
together with all their other moral duties. Such 
teachers, only, can succeed and do good in the 
West Indies. 

While the concluding numbers of the present 
sheets were in the press, Mr. Stephen's new 
work " Negro Slavery," &,c. vol. 1st, made its 
appearance. This closely printed octavo vo- 
lume of upwards of 500 pages, is made up 
from the previous violent publications of the 
African Institution. It exhibits a distortion of 
facts and mutilation of official documents, such 
as the public have again and again seen, and 
again and again condemned and reprobated, in 
the publications put forth from the same quarter 
and for the same object, Upon opening the 



398 



volume, at page 212, the following extract upon 
the subject of religious establishments in the 
Colonies, first caught my eye, viz. : " The Go- 
vernor of Trinidad expresses his concern that 
there is no cJuirck, or church establishment in 
that island " {Parliamentary Papers 0/I8I8, 
p. 212.) Astonishment and indignation filled 
my mind. 1 had in my possession at the 
moment, a communication from Sir Ralph Wood- 
ford, the governor of Trinidad, to Earl Bathurst, 
upon the same subject, and extracted from the 
same Parliamentary Papers, pages 212 and 214. 
Let the extracts speak for themselves :— 

Trinidad. — Extract of a Letter from Governor Sir Ralph Woodford to 
Earl Bathurst. 

" I communicated to the Protestant Minister such parts of your Lord- 
ship's letter as related to him more particularly ; and I herewith enclose 
a copy of Mr. Clapham's reply. 

" Having found the Rev. Don Joaqnim de Aristimano at the head of 
the catholic church, 1 have only to bear testimony to his labours, and to 
his disinterestedness, as to those of the Friar Jose de Ricla, by whose joint 
efforts the greatest improvement in the religious devotion of the mid- 
dling class of people has been effected." — (p. 212.) 

A return is given of one Protestant Minister, and eight Catholic Priests ; 
and Mr. Clapham states the arrival of several Missionaries in the island, 
since the conflagration of Port of Spain, in 1808, in which the Protestant 
Church was unfortunately destroyed ; and describes the effects of their 
labours as follows : — 

" After all, I may be mistaken in my opinions : but when I see the 
general temper of the British nation departing so far from the at least 
prudent maxims of the Church of Rome, with regard to uniformity of 
public worship — when every madman or every enthusiast is allowed, with- 
out the sanction or the approbation of his superiors in knowledge and in 



S99 



prudence, or some regularly constituted authority, to entice others into 
his delirium, or enthusiasm — ami religious enthusiasm is infectious ; and 
dissatisfaction arising from a thousand sources of temper and habits lends 
its powerful aid to apostacy — when he forgets that toleration as to his 
private opinions is generously as well as properly allowed him, but ought 
to be confined to his private opinions — when he thinks he has a right to 
make the Holy Scriptures yield to his private interpretation, and to per- 
suade others to imbibe his notion — all these things considered, my de- 
cided opinion is, that although such people may make nominal Christians, 
they are more likely to make them dangerous subjects ; and that this 
danger, in these countries, is greatest among the SlaA T es." — p. 214.) 

Mr. Stephen may call his conduct, in this in- 
stance, dealing fairly with the public ; to me it 
appears to be conduct such as was never before 
pursued by any one to injure one country, or to 
mislead another. 

When the reader is informed that the volume 
in question is made up of similar mutilations and 
misrepresentations, he will probably think he has 
heard enough of it. 

Trinidad contains 35,000 inhabitants. They 
are nearly all rigid Roman Catholics. It is the 
seat of a Roman Catholic bishop, and from the 
preceding letters it is evident that at that period 
it had one religious teacher to every 2,500 or 
3,000 inhabitants. 

The preface to the work is of a piece with the 
rest , but, in fact, the most important part of it 
— as is said to be occasionally the case with the 
postscript of a letter, it lets out the facts and the 
spirit which the epistle had been written to con- 



400 



ceal. It breathes a spirit of deeper rancour and 
animosity against our West India Colonies than 
any thing that has yet appeared. At the same 
time it betrays a soreness which shews the mind 
of the writer to be both distracted and disturbed. 
He will feel sorer still before that storm of pub- 
lic indignation is expended which now rolls 
against him. On his head will this indignant 
nation charge the loss of our West India Co- 
lonies, and all the evils — individual ruin and 
misery, and national loss and disgrace, which may 
proceed from the destruction of those valuable 
possessions. How justly, let an appeal to his 
own heart determine and decide. 

In the preface alluded to, we find (pages 9, 
10) an undisguised justification of the negro re- 
volts in Barbadoes, Demerara, &c. and a scarcely 
concealed regret that so little of the blood of the 
whites had been shed. In this preface we are 
distinctly informed that the total loss of the 
West India Colonies, " or their transfer to a 
Foreign power" (page 40) would be a great 
blessing to this country — a ".saving of blood 
and treasure in their defence," (page 41) and a 
" saving of two millions a year" to the people 
of England, by substituting the Sugars of the 
Brazils, Cuba, Hayti, and Hindostan for theirs* 



401 



Heaven protect our country if ever the counsels 
of her statesmen are animated or influenced by 
a spirit and ideas like these. 

The same authority which now recommends, 
nay almost commands, us to destroy our West 
India Colonies, and take our supply of Sugar 
from foreign Colonies, cultivated by Slaves, and 
maintained by the Slave trade, would certainly, 
and that at no distant day, require of this country, 
in the next place, to give up Cuba and Brazil 
Sugar, and take Sugar which may be produced 
in Africa by compulsory labour. Not a doubt 
can remain on this point. 

Two or three commercial points in the pre- 
face in question, merit a moment's attention, 
from their inconsistency and absurdity. 

In page 28 we are informed, that there is no 
such a thing as British capital vested in the West 
Indies — that its value is as imaginary and un- 
substantial " as Sir Gregor McGregor's princi- 
pality." Yet in the very next page we are told 
u When a West India Planter fails, the mer- 
chants, mortgagees, and creditors in this coun- 
try, are almost sure largely to suffer. When 
a West Indian merchant fails (and how very 
common an occurrence that is, the commercial 
world need not be told) the manufacturers and 
others, who are connected with him in this country, 

d d 



402 

deeply feel the effects of his ruin, and are often 
drawn down by his fall." Why, what profound 
commercial reasoning is this, and what has it to 
do with the subject of negroe emancipation? 
May not a creditor be u drawn down by the fall" 
of a Master in Chancery as w r ell as by the fall of 
a West India merchant? Certainly. Besides, 
does Mr. Stephen imagine the mortgagees and 
merchants in this country, to be such dolts and 
idiots as to lend money upon what was not 
legally accounted property, or to send goods to 
a country where no man in it had any property? 
Mr. Stephen may as well tell us, that when the 
land in this country yielded little or no rent, 
the landlord had no capital at stake, or that 
British subjects have no property or capital in 
the national funds, as attempt to persuade man- 
kind that the landowners in the West Indies, 
have no capital vested in that country. He and 
his colleagues, labour hard to render West India 
property as valueless as Sir Gregor McGregor's 
bonds, but they have not yet succeeded, and 
before they do succeed, some inquiries may be 
made, as to the value of East India Bonds — 
some inquiries may possibly be made as to that 
sink for national capital, that clog to national 
commerce— Sierra Leone. a It is, 55 to use his 
own words, p. 33, * high time that the people of 



403 



England should be enabled by Parliamentary in- 
vestigation, fairly to ascertain n every thing con- 
nected witli that place.. 

The following high flight of fancy, was,, how- 
ever, scarcely to have been expected from Mr. 
Stephen, page 40, he says " Let those threateners 
(West India Colonists) prove to us, if they can, 
that a ton of Sugar brought from Brazil or India 
will pay a less freight than if it came from Ja- 
maica." Why Mr. Stephen and his colleagues 
during the last two years have been labouring 
to prove that it could be brought at less freight. 

Mr. Stephen in his usual strain of declamation 
and exaggeration, always employed when he has 
no facts to adduce, tells us, page 33, that u our 
Sugar Colonies have cost us during the last 
thirty years, an hundred and fifty 'millions of 
debt ; and fifty thousand lives." For the loss of 
lives in the Colonies, we may thank his great 
predecessors in negroe emancipation, the Goddess 
of Reason,— Liberty, and Equality; and for the 
debt, or rather expense of preserving them, 
we have to thank the demi-godoi the Edinburgh 
Review — N apqleon, who w anted to deprive us 
of them. If, however, we divide Mr. Stephen's 
sum by five, we shall have the utmost expense 
of conquering many, and maintaining all these 
strong outworks of our empire, at least such 

Dd2 



404 



Napoleon thought them, and on such subjects he 
was, I take it, a more competent judge than 
Mr. Stephen, or the Abolition Society. 

But Mr. Stephen has stated only one side of 
the account. He has omitted to state the produce 
which we have received from them, and the goods 
which we have sent to them, when we could nei- 
ther receive the former, nor send the latter y 
from, or to any f other quarter. During the 
war, when prices were high, the imports from 
the West Indies were sometimes nearly 20 
millions, and the Exports above ten millions an- 
nually. Take the imports on an average at 14 
millions, and exports at eight millions, and the 
amount would stand thus for the last thirty 
years, viz : — 

Imports from West Indies* - ,£420,000,000 

Exports to do. - ~' ' '•' ' '- 240,000,000 

Revenue from do. above - - - - 210,000,000 

Colonial produce exported, say ... 160,000,000 

Total (equal to our national debt) - - ^1,030,000,000 

Independent of the exports and imports to and 
from the British North American Colonies, and 
also the United States, perhaps 100 millions 
more. 



* Exclusive of freight and charges— The whole of this enormous sum 
also, was expended in Great Britain, and upon articles the growth, pro- 
duce, and manufacture of her own soil. 



405 

Amongst the other extravagant assertions 

brought forward by the anti-colonists, and re- 
iterated by Mr. Stephen, the following stands 
most prominent, namely, that were oar West 
India Colonies utterly lost and destroyed, the 
people of Great Britain would get abundance of 
Sugar cheaper from other quarters, and that 
neither our shipping interest nor our revenue 
would suffer any loss. - 

Prejudice and ignorance the most dangerous, 
could alone advance such statements as these. 
The British West India Colonies export in 
round numbers 190,000 tons of Sugar, the 
United Kingdom consumes, about 160,000 tons. 
The French, and Dutch, and Danish Colonies, do 
not supply the wants of the parent states with 
Sugar. Cuba in 1822, exported from the Ha- 
vannah alone 263,000 boxes (4J cwt. each) Sugar. 
Last year to the end of August it exported an 
equal amount. Suppose the export of Sugar from 
the Havannah for the year to have been 300,000 
boxes, and that the Sugar exports from the rest 
of Cuba were one half more, the whole would 
amount to 450,000 boxes, or 95,625 tons, a 
considerable portion of which is clayed. At 
this rate, the Sugar thrown into the markets 
of Europe and America, from the countries which 
produce it, would stand thus— viz : — 



406 



Cuba (allowance for clayed) - 120,000 tons 

Brazils, say - - : • - - - - 20,000 — 
India - - - , - - - - 20,000 — 



which is all consumed in different Foreign 
Countries. 



in Foreign States / 1 '°> uuu luus 

Do. British do. do. - - - 40,000 — 

Total raised for, and consumed in Foreign States 216,000 tons 

Strike away therefore, the whole produce of 
the British Colonies, 190,000 tons, out of the 
market, and the veriest tyro in arithmetic, and 
in politics, could determine that the people of 
Great Britain could not then get the quantity of 
Sugar they now get, that what they did get 
would be double, perhaps triple, the price which 
they now pay for West India Sugar ; while the 
deficiency in quantity, would occasion a pro- 
portionate diminution in the revenue, and the 
majority being chiefly imported in foreign 
ships, the freights now obtained for West 
India Sugar, would be almost totally lost to 
the shipping interest of Great Britain. 

However little the value of the West India 
Colonies may be appreciated now by this country 
—by Mr. Stephen and his friends, there was a 
period in the History of Great Britain when 



And Eastern Isles, allow 



16,000 — 



Total 



176,000 tons 



Total foreign Sugar exportable, and consumed 




407 



she thought very differently and more correctly. 
Amongst the monuments to the memory of the 
mighty dead, which a grateful nation has raised 
and placed in the metropolitan churchy there is 
one which, before he looks upon the West In- 
dies in such a contemptuous light, I would re- 
commend Mr. Stephen to examine. The in- 
scription upon that erected to the memory of 
Major-General Dundas, who died on the 3rd 
June, 1794, in the West Indies, bears, that it 
was erected in compliance with an unanimous 
resolution of the House of Commons, June 5th 
1795, in order to commemorate " the eminent 
services which he had rendered his country, 
particularly by the reduction of the French 
West India islands" Mr. Stephen and his ad- 
herents in the present anti-colonial war may 
dash to pieces the marble containing this in- 
scription, but neither their sneers, their scorn, 
nor their misrepresentations can erase from the 
pages of history the feelings, sentiments, and 
the opinion of a grateful nation, recorded during 
the proudest period of her triumphs and her 
glory. 

On the opening of the session of Parliament, 
1797, when the King's Speech cheered the nation 
with the memorable victory of Oamperdown, 
Mr. Bryan Edwards, a West Indian, attacked 



408 



the minister, Mr. Pitt, denouncing all his policy, 
and lamenting the secession of Mr. Fox from 
his parliamentary duties. Mr. Edwards " ani- 
madverted on our conquests in the East and 
West Indies, which he represented as not worth 
the expenses of a single campaign. In the West 
Indies particularly," said he " the hand of Om- 
nipotence was lifted up against us. So great 
was the ravage of pestilence that every field was 
a charnei house. As well might we think to 
make conquests in the moon, as to retain them 
in the French islands (St. Domingo in particular.) 
He reprobated the policy of extending our West 
India Colonial possessions, or of conquering is- 
lands at the price of peace, &c*." Mr. Wit- 
her force, on this occasion, stood forward the 
champion of ministers, and taking up Mr. Ed- 
wards closely and warmly, and believing they 
were right and " Omnipotence," not " against 
us" but for us, he strongly defended all their 
measures and all their policy, including amongst 
the rest the conquest of St. Domingo and " the 
extension of our West India Colonial posses- 
sions." While he severely blamed Mr. Fox for 
abandoning his post, " he declared that what- 
ever might be the conduct of other gentlemen, 
he should remain at his post. He would not 

* Speech opening Parliament, 1757. 



409 



leave a sinking vessel to the mercy of the waves, 
but would stick by her while any of the timbers 
remained together. He did not think the country 
in so dismal a condition as it had been repre- 
sented, nor did he think if Mr. Edwards's opi- 
nions had been attended to, the country would 
have been in a better situation than it was at pre- 
sent*. Times are changed, and Mr. Wilber- 
force, it appears^ now thinks differently about 
" our Colonial possessions." 

Mr. Stephen asserts, that by emancipating the 
Slaves, and " trusting them with arms, our 
Sugar Colonies might be safely left to their in- 
terior means of defence," and consequently that 
Great Britain would save the whole expense, 
naval and military, at present incurred in pro- 
tecting them. Let the state of St. Domingo 
answer these assertions. With a condensed 
population of 350,000, Boyer requires an army 
of 25,000 men inured to the climate, to maintain 
his authority. The population in our Colonies 
being double would if emancipated and " trusted 
with arms," require double the number of troops, 
without taking into account the additional num- 
ber which would be necessary on account of the 
distance of those possessions from the parent 
state ; the insulated nature of those possessions 

* Speech opening Parliament, 1797. 



410 



and the defalcation from the effective strength 
of European troops, unseasoned to the climate. 

If Mr. Stephen would only look at a globe or 
the map of the world, he must, I think, perceive 
that with negroes emancipated — negroe repub- 
lics, or negroe anarchy in the West Indies — 
with the republic of Hayti in the heart of them 
— the ambitious republic of Colombia on the 
one hand (and close at hand) and the still more 
powerful and ambitious republic of the United 
States on the other hand — and with almost every 
bay and point totally defenceless and open to at- 
tack, that Great Britain could not defend the West 
Indies, even were they, under such circumstances, 
worth the defending, but at an expense which 
would equal the expense of the defence of the 
Spanish Peninsula. Fortunately for this country 
a wiser head than Mr. Stephen's must be con- 
sulted on this point. The conqueror of Waterloo 
— the Duke of Wellington, will, if I mistake not, 
differ from Mr. Stephen, and by doing so, again 
save his country from loss and humiliation — 
from enemies more dangerous to his power than 
Napoleon was with Europe prostrate at his feet. 



APPENDIX. 



Paper referred to, page 54. 
Accounts relating to Four and Half per Cent. Duties. 
An Account of the Nett Proceeds of the Four and Half per Cent. Barba- 
does and Leeward Islands Duties, consigned to England in Produce ; 
distinguishing the amount from each Island, for the year 1819. 

Nett Proceeds. 

Islands. £. s. d. 

Antigua - - - - - 10,250 3 3 

Barbadoes 16,185 12 9 

Montserrat - - - - - 1,388 15 4 

Nevis 2,447 14 9 

St. Christopher's - - - - 4,584 3 

Tortola 987 8 5 

Sugar Samples - - - - 45 18 7 

£35,889 16 1 

An Account of the Nett Proceeds of the Four and Half per Cent. Barba- 
does and Leeward Island Duties, consigned to England in Produce ; 
distinguishing the Amount from each Island, for the year 1820. 

Nett Proceeds. 

Islands. £. s. d. 

Antigua 9,337 12 11 

Barbadoes - - - - - 8,176 10 2 

Montserrat 1,261 9 

Nevis - - - - - - 1,567 12 1 

St. Christopher's - - - - 4,192 6 7 

Tortola - - - - - 862 6 11 

Sugar Samples - - - 37 6 3 

£ 25,435 3 11 

An Account of the Total Nett Produce of the Four and Half per Cent. 

Barbadoes and Leeward Islands Duties, for the years 1819 and 1820, 

as far as relates to the Husband, distinguishing each year. 

RECEIPTS. Amount. 

£. s. d. 

To Cash per Messrs. Mitchells, in the year 1819 - 49,250 

Ditto Ditto in the year 1820 - 46,517 17 3 

Ditto per James Gordon, esq. collector at Bristol,! ft ia - 

in the year 1820 - - - - / 18 

£ 95,768 15 9 



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418 



Papa' referred to\page 56. 

EAST AND WEST INDIA TRADE. 

Value of the Exports from Great Britain to the East Indies and Chins, 
for the years ending 5th January, 1814, to 5th January, 1823. 

EAST INDIES AND CHINA. 
Official Value. 

British and Irish Produce and Manufactures. 





For. and Col. 






Other 


Total 




Merchandize. 


Cottons. 


Woollens. 


Articles. 


xi«Apui IS* 




£ 


£ 


£ 


£ 




1814 


The Records of this year were destroyed by fire. 




1815 


224,684 


78,197 


656,543 


736,980 




1816 


275,545 


109,644 


642,484 


1,026,893 


o nr.A zee 


1817 


334,795 


142,867 


556,770 


1,151,209 


2,185,641 


1818 


316,678 


432,364 


511,842 


1,518,741 


2,779,625 


1819 


502,529 


698,983 


604,421 


1,379,817 


3,185,750 


1820 


374,381 


556,202 


602,364 


840,035 


2,372,982 


1821 


294,360 


1,138,722 


808,142 


1,031,587 


3,272,811 


1822 


658,042 


1,531,817 


967,085 


1,156,103 


4,313,047 


1823 


317,625 


1,640,984 


795,549 


1,132,792 


3,886,950 






Declai 


ed Value*. 






1814 












1815 


224,684 


109,487 


1,084,434 


1,140,428 


2,559,033 


1816 


275,545 


142,411 


1,060,766 


1,688,239 


3,166,961 


1817 


334,795 


160,724 


1,027,251 


1,855,988 


3,378,758 


1818 


316,678 


423,319 


827,726 


2,454,919 


4,022,642 


1819 


502,529 


701,348 


943,185 


2,216,921 


4,363,983 


1820 


374,381 


461,405 


938,218 


1,251,946 


3,025,950 


1821 


294,360 


850,906 


1,348,464 


1,493,798 


3,987,528 


1822 


658,042 


1,122,868 


1,421,650 


1,607,159 


4,809,719 


1823 


317,625 


1,147,393 


1,080,229 


1,544,339 


4,089,586 



* No Declaration of the Real Value of Foreign and Colonial Goods ex- 
ported, being required by law, the Official Value is here substituted in the 
room thereof.- 



419 



'West Indies. 
Official Value. 
British and Irish Produce and Manufactures. 





For. and Col. 






Other 


Total 




Merchandize. 


Cottons. 


Woollens. 


Articles. 


Exports. 


1814 


The Records of this year were destroyed by fire. 




1815 


£329,748 £3,090,267 


£253,872 


£2,638,612 


£6,312,499 


1816 


447,322 


3,563,130 


236,492 


2,659,687 


6,906,631 


1817 


265,676 


2,071,444 


158,320 


2,109,632 


4,605,072 


1818 


377,628 


3,847,866 


247,000 


2,289,575 


6,762,069 


1819 


267,737 


2,813,915 


234,578 


2,468,324 


5,784,554 


1820 


292,034 


1,643,014 


208,516 


2,346,446 


4,490,010 


1821 


308,821 


1,757,772 


144,804 


2,141,117 


4,352,514 


1822 


364,337 


2,427,786 


156,496 


2,120,753 


5,069,372 


1823 


239,733 


1,817,984 


177,311 


1,911,435 


4,146,463 






Declared Value*. 






1814 












1815 


329,748 


2,221,049 


301,290 


3,811,451 


6,663,538 


1816 


447,322 


2,581,362 


307,651 


3,756,752 


7,093,087 


1817 


265,676 


1,192,969 


177,024 


2,785,170 


4,420,839 


1818 


377,628 


2,139,760 


277,986 


3,008,419 


5,803,793 


1819 


267,737 


1,892,245 


284,450 


3,426,664 


5,871,096 


1820 


292,034 


1,083,816 


250,459 


3,120,707 


4,747,016 


1821 


308,821 


1,072,636 


172,598 


2,615,026 


4,169,081 


1822 


364,337 


1,303,466 


177,471 


2,504,116 


4,349,390 


1823 


239,733 


863,440 


177,137 


2,103,351 


3,383,661 



Value of the Exports from Great Britain to 
Jamaica. 

Official Value. 

For. and Col. Other 

Merchandize. Cottons. Woollens. Articles. 

1815 £162,652 £2,152,278 £152,796 £1,212,696 

1816 238,871 2,511,338 93,736 1,396,243 



Total 
Exports. 

£3,660,422 

4,240,188 

[1817 



* No Declaration of the Real Value of Foreign and Colonial Goods ex- 
ported, being required by law, the Official Value is here substituted in the 
room thereof. 



420 



1817 


1 A A ACT 

144,067 


1,615,468 


97,539 


1,108,269 


2,875,343 


1818 


251,944 


3,148,422 


180,760 


1,153,599 


4 734 725 


1819 


136,647 


1,991,159 


161,460 


1,171,984 


3,461,250 


1820 


142,888 


1,150,548 


150,187 


1,111,312 


2,554,935 


1821 


148,108 


1,207,786 


93,503 


1,078,165 


2,527,562 


1822 


238,177 


1,927,353 


116,000 


1,171,012 


3,452,542 


1823 


121,630 


1,212,473 


134,397 


1,037,335 


2,505,835 






Declared Value*. 






1815 


162,652 


1,559,988 


176,920 


1,684,104 


3,583,664 


1816 


238,871 


1,745,738 


124,747 


1,859,961 


3,969,317 


1817 


144,067 


877,684 


101,478 


1,264,108 


2,387,337 


1818 


251,944 


1,677,566 


196,196 


1,416,378 


3,542,084 


1819 


136,647 


1,334,741 


190,068 


1,567,930 


3,229,386 


1820 


142,888 


760,797 


175,758 


1,408,397 


• 2,487,840 


1821 


148,108 


748,827 


109,180 


1,239,052 


2,245,167 


1822 


238,177 


1,023,316 


131,318 


1,304,543 


2,697,354 


1823 


121,630 


548,217 


130,556 


1,076,048 


1,876,451 



An Account of the Amount of British Merchandize Exported from the 
British West Indian Colonies to Foreign Settlements in the West Indies 
and America, in each year from that ending 5th January, 1814, to that 
ending 5th January, 1823 — so far as the same can be ascertained from 
the Returns made to this Department. 

BRITISH MERCHANDIZE EXPORTED FROM 

Total 

Jamaica. Bahamas. Trinidad, Sfc. Exports. 
No. of Bibs. No. of Bbls. No. of Bbls. No. of Bbls. 
Bales or Bales or Bales or Bales or 



Yrs. 


Cases. 


Cases. 


Cases. 


Cases. 


1814 










1815 


49,611 


10,505 


3,634 


63,750 


1816 


49,820 


6,155 


4,629 


60,667 


1817 


47,240 


4,445 


2,388 


54,073 


1818 


44,631 


8,614 


1,449 


54,694 



* No Declaration of the Real Value of Foreign and Colonial Goods ex- 
ported, being required by law, the Official Value is here substituted in the 
room thereof. 



421 

Total 

Jamaica. Bahamas. Trinidad, Sfc. Exports, 
No. of Bbls. No. of Bbls No. of Bbls. No. of Bbls. 





Bales or 


Bales or 


Bales or 


Bales or 


Yrs. 


Cases. 


Cases. 


Cases. 


Cases. 


1819 


35,358 


6,379 


1,105 


42,842 


1820 


32,670 


4,960 


831 


38,461 


1821 


36,139 


4,511 


729 


41,379 


1822 


34,478 


3,178 


1,308 


38,964 


1823 


26,283 


2,588 


642 


29,513 



WILLIAM IRVING, 

Inspector-General of the Imports and 

Exports of Great Britain . 

Inspector-General's Office, Custom House, 
London, 10th March, 1823. 

St. Domingo. 

The following authentic account of the beginning of the insurrection in 
St. Domingo, is extracted from the Jamaica Gazette, of the year 1791. 
I subjoin it as attempts are every where making to mislead the public 
mind, by asserting that the Slaves did not emancipate themselves by 
force, but where emancipated without danger or bloodshed, by the 
French Government. 

Jamaica Gazette, 1791. 
On Wednesday ^ast arrived in this town, from Cape Francois, in a 
French vessel dispatched on the occasion, Monsieur Bugnet, a Member 
of the General Assembly of the French part of Hispaniola, with the 
dreadful intelligence, that the negroe Slaves in that island have rose into 
open rebellion, and are carrying destruction and bloodshed throughout 
the country ; in consequence whereof the white inhabitants, apprehensive 
they have not sufficient force to reduce them, have dispatched agents to 
all the neighbouring islands to solicit immediate assistance. M. Bugnet 
has brought letters to that purpose, both from M. Blanchelande, the 
Commander in Chief, and M. de Cadufch, the President of the Colonial 
Assembly, to his Excellency the Governor ; and also a letter directed 
" To the Honourable Members of the General Assembly of Jamaica." 
The Assembly not being sitting, this last-mentioned letter was delivered 
to George French, Esq. the Clerk of the House, who having given notice 

* Three Quarters ending 10th October.— Parliamentary Paper, No. 130, 



422 



thereof to such of the members as were in Spanish-Town, about eight 
of those gentlemen met on Thursday in the Assembly Room, and opened 
the letter, of which the following is a translation : 

" 24th August, 1794. 

" Honourable Gentlemen, 

"The ruin of St. Domingo seems inevitable. In a short time, this 
beautiful country will be a heap of ashes : already the planters have bathed 
with their blood, that land which has been fertilized by the sweat 
of their brows. At this moment, the flames are consuming these pro- 
ductions Vphich contribute to the splendour of the French empire. The 
desolaters of our properties have spread around us the flames of war s 
our own Slaves are armed for our destruction : that philosophy which 
gives consolation to man, is, with us, converted into despair. 

" Without succour, and reaching the extremity of calamity, St. Do- 
mingo seeks for friends and protectors among the states that surround it. 
We say nothing of your own particular interest, endangered as it is by the 
same-spirit of delusive philanthropy, which, equally repugnant to your 
system of regulation as to ours, may occasion the same calamities among 
you as among us, if the evil is suffered to proceed to the utmost excess : 
we content ourselves only with appealing to that generosity which is the 
characteristic of your nation : we ask for assistance freely and with con- 
fidence. 

" Prompted by this sentiment, the General Assembly of the French 
part of St. Domingo have deputed Mons. de Bugnet, one of its members, 
to lay our situation before you. 

" He will produce, first, the charter of our constitution, which estab- 
lishes our character as the legal representatives of the people of St. 
Domingo. 

" Secondly, his commission. 

" Thirdly, a proclamation for soliciting succour from our neighbouring 
powers. 

" I have the honour to be, with the most cordial and fraternal attach- 
ment, 

" Honourable Gentlemen, 
Your most humble and obedient servant, 
(Signed) " P. DE CADUSCH, 

" President of the General Assembly of 
the French part of St. Domingo. 

" The Honourable Members of the 
General Assembly of Jamaica." 

The account which M. Bugnet gives of this alarming revolt is shortly 
as follows : Early on the morning of the 23d ult. the negroes belonging 
to the plantation of M. Chabaud, situated four leagues to the westward of 
Cape Fransois, rose on the white people, all of whom they instantly mas- 
sacred, and then set fire to the buildings and canes ; proceeding from 
thence towards the Cape, they were joined by the negroes of most of the 
intermediate plantations, which shared the same fate, the white people, 
or at least such of them as were not lucky enough to escape to the town, 



423 



being in like manner massacred. The whole of the clay exhibited a scene 
of desolation and horror, the whites flying from all quarters into the 
town, and the rebels proceeding without interruption until they came 
within two miles of the Cape ; it was supposed that their number was in- 
creased by the evening to about 1,500. In the mean time the inhabitants 
of the town, apprehending that the free people of colour were at the bot- 
tom of the conspiracy, took measures for securing all such of them as 
were within their reach ; but the mulattoes surrendering without resist- 
ance, and delivering up their children as pledges of their sincerity, of- 
fered to go in pursuit of the rebels. Their offer, after some hesitation, 
was accepted, aud 600 of them were embodied on the 24th, and, together 
with two companies of foot and a troop of horse, proceeded to meet the 
revolters, with whom they came up the same day on the Plain of the 
Cape, and after a short engagement put them to flight, killing more than 
one hundred on the spot, and taking about eighty prisoners, all of whom 
were immediately sent to the Cape, where they were put to death. 

It is said that the savages had totally burnt and destroyed between fifty 
and sixty sugar-plantations, and killed a great many white people, the 
number of which was not precisely known before M. Bugnet sailed ; and 
they were still in considerable force, but retreating towards the moun- 
tains, fires being still seen in all the parts of the country, so that there is 
reason to apprehend the revolt is general. 

On receiving this intelligence, his Excellency postponed the Court of 
Chancery, and was yesterday in this town, in consultation, as we are in- 
formed, with Admiral Affleck and Major-General Williamson, at which 
M. Bugnet and some other French gentlemen were present ; in conse- 
quence of which, it is reported, that permission is given to M. Bugnet to 
purchase arms, ammunition, and provisions. What further assistance 
will be given from hence, we are not informed. 

JOSHUA STEELE, OF BARBADOES. 

The following authentic particulars regarding Mr. Steele were re- 
ceived when the present work was nearly all printed off. As his case has 
made a great noise among the African Institution writers, these particu- 
lars will be found interesting. 

Mr. Steele succeeded to Kendal Estate, Barbadoes, in right of his 
wife, Sarah Osborne, who had previously been married to Robert Os- 
borne. Mr. Steele went to Barbadoes in March 1780. He was owner 
of no other estate but Kendal, which had been badly managed for some 



424 



years previous to 1780. Mr. Steele rented from Admiral Shirley and 
his wife a plantation called Byde Mill, immediately adjoining Kendal 
Estate. Mr. Steele was in extremely embarrassed circumstances, and 
afraid lest his estate and Slaves should be levied upon to pay his debts, 
he set himself to oppose and get altered the laws of the island, which 
authorized the sale of Slaves to pay the debts of their master. In this 
he did not succeed. His credit was so bad amongst the merchants, that 
he was frequently unable to procure supplies to his estate. Thus situated, 
he had recourse to his boasted " copyhold system" which, at the outset, 
was as follows : — 

To each Slave of his first gang he allotted half an acre of land for his 
subsistence, requiring them to labour for him 260 days in the year, at 
1\d. per day. To the second gang he allotted a quarter of an acre of land 
to each, requiring them to labour for him 276 days in the year, at 5d. 
per day; for the third gang he paid over to the parents of each l\d. per 
week. For the children he provided nothing, and gave them no allow- 
ance. They were to be maintained and clothed by their parents till they 
entered the third gang. The aged and infirm were to have no wages, but 
to be left, if incapable of work for him, to work and feed themselves 
from their half acre of land ; and if capable of a little light work, to 
receive \\\d. per week for it. This plan Mr. Steele afterwards altered, 
and at length finished the scheme, by settling the day's work to be ten 
hours, at the following wages — \d. an hour for each negroe of the first 
gang — \d. per hour for each negroe of the second gang — 7%d, per week 
for each negroe of the third gang — and 3f d. per week for each negroe of 
the fourth gang. 

Mr. Steele charged the negroes at the rate of £3 per acre for the land 
allotted to them. They were not permitted to work upon any other 
estate, but were obliged to work upon his. His wages to an able negroe 
per annum was at the rate abovementioned, £8 .. 2 .. 6,; out of which the 
Slave was obliged to supply himself with implements, nay house-rent, 
food, clothing, head levy (3s.) fines (two day's wages for every day's ab- 
sence) forfeitures, doctor's bills, &c: so that any one who will take the 
trouble to calculate, will find that at the end of the year the Slave must 
have been indebted to his master. The present allowance of salt-fish to 
the negroes, two pounds per week, would amount to above one-fourth of 
their wages.* 

* What doctors would charge a free negroe for annual attendance 1 
know not. Their charge by the year (the cheapest mode) for a white 



425 



But this is not all — the Slaves were not paid in f the current coin" of 
the colony, as has been asserted. Mr. Steele got out from England cop- 
per coin, with which he paid their wages, and which not being current 
any where else, they were compelled to bring back to him in payment 
for every article of provisions, such as corn, grain, yams, eddoes, pota- 
toes, rum, molasses, rice, salt, salt-fish, &c. which they purchased from 
him. 

The system proved most ruinous to both the master and the Slaves. 
The latter rejoiced when the system to which they had been accustomed 
was restored. 

The scribes of the African Institution tell us, that Mr. Steele was 
eighty years of age when he went to Barbadoes in 1780, at which rate 
he must have been ninety-seven when he died. The truth, I believe, is, 
that he was about sixty when he went out. By a coloured woman, 
a Slave belonging to Byde Mill plantation, which he rented, he had 
two children — a son and a daughter ; he left them a considerable part of 

person is about £6 sterling. But suppose they charged free negroes or 
copyhold negroes only one fourth, nay only what the master now pays 
annually for each negroe 6s. 6d., which would be equal to 13*. for every 
negroe, in Mr. Steel's mode of arrangement. Suppose the doctor only 
charged at this rate, let us see how the affairs of Mr. Steele's negroes 
would stand at the end of the year : — 

CR. DR. 

1st Gang wages ^£8 2 6 Rent land £1 10 

Doctor's bill 13 

House rent, only . . 1 

Clothing 1 

Blankets, hoes, &c. . 15 

Salt-fish, 100 lbs. .. 1 15 6 

Beef and Pork, 8 lbs. 6 6 

Food, say only .... 4 

Head levy 3 

£11 3 

By such a dreadful system the stoutest and ablest negroes must either 
be on debt, starve or steal, while the less able, the young, the aged ana 
the infirm, must be placed in £t state of the greatest misery. Really it is 
an insult to the understanding of a country like this, to have such a sys- 
tem held up as worthy of imitation. Besides there are many other items 
which Slaves now get from their masters (see preceding pages of this 
work) the value of which it is impossible to estimate, and which are ac- 
•ordingly omitted. 



426 



his property, but he left them all Slaves: the following is a copy of 
his will : — 

Barbadoes. 

" In the name of God, amen. I, Joshua Steele, of sound mind, 
do make this my last will and testament, as follows — I give and bequeath 
my estates of every sort to my sister, Mary Ann Steele, and my two 
children, Catharine Steele and Edward Steele, but not so as to become 
the property of any other person claiming in right of my said children, 
who are now Slaves, but for their own proper benefit, and not otherwise. 
I give unto my nephew, Samuel Steele, fifteen hundred pounds sterling, 
and the further sum of three hundred pounds per annum during his life ; 
. ,. , ("and to Thomas Bell one thousand pounds, for the use of his 

(children. 

I do hereby nominate and appoint my present overseer, Francis Bell, 
and my nephew, Samuel Steele, executors of this my last will ; hereby 
revoking all others. Witness my hand and seal, this twenty-third day of 
October 1796. 

(Signed) " JOSHUA STEELE." (L.S.) 



When the different dashing statements regarding Mr. Steele's copyhold 
system made their appearance in this country, no time was lost in making 
the necessary inquiries into their truth, from persons acquainted with 
Barbadoes, or at present residing in it. I annex the following letter 
from the Attorney-General of the Island to Joseph W. Jordan, Esq. Lon- 
don. 

" Barbadoes, August 1, 1823. 

" DEAR SIR, 

" I am now to acknowledge the receipt of yours of the 12th 
ult. by which you refer to me for information with respect to Mr. Steele 
and a Mr. Dickson, whose names are again brought forward to our preju- 
dice, in the recent attempt to ruin us, by emancipating our Slaves. Of 
Dickson I had never even heard, till my return to -Barbadoes early in the 
year 1779, after an absence of nearly seven years in England. I found 
there was a man of that name making some noise in the country. He had 
been an obscure man, and had lost an arm by the bursting of a cannon, 
which he was firing at some public rejoicing. He had possessed a few 
Slaves, whom he had treated cruelly, and had got rid of them, either 
voluntarily or by compulsion, and then he set himself up as a violent op- 
poser of slavery, and published several things against the inhabitants, 
some of which were true, and others grossly false. 

" I knew something of Mr. Steele in England. About two years after 
my return he came to the Island, and immediately retained me as one 
of his counsel, so that I became well acquainted with him and his views. 
Although his plantation was a very fine one, it had not been well ma- 
naged, and he was involved in debt. He dreaded lest his negroes should 
be taken from him ; he therefore set himself up to oppose the law which 
allows Slaves to be attached for debt, and carried from off the soil. He 
was also desirous of avoiding the payment of his debts, and he set him- 



427 



self up in opposition to all the laws of the Island. At a Court of Grand 
Sessions, at which he was foreman of the grand jury, he presented Hall's 
Statute Book of the Laws of the Island as a nuisance, declared that not 
one of our laws was in force, and insisted that they were all repugnant 
to the laws of England. 

Mr. Steele instituted what he called a copyhold system for the ma- 
nagement of his plantation. His Slaves were to be paid hire for the 
work they did. He allowed them a small pittance for every hour that 
they worked, but they paid for every thing — house rent, doctor's attend- 
ance, medicine, clothes and food, and, in short, every thing they de- 
sired to have, he supplied them with, and deducted the price out of their 
hire. They had not the option of working, or letting it alone. They 
were obliged to work, and upon his plantation ; if they did not, he not 
only stopped their hire, but they were punished either by flogging or im- 
prisonment. Mr. Steele soon found that it was by far the cheapest way 
of " managing the plantation. 

" I was surprised to see it asserted lately in print, that his plantation 
succeeded well under that management. 1 know it to be false — it failed 
considerably ; and had he lived a few years longer, he would not have 
died worth a farthing. Upon his death they reverted to the old system, 
to which the Slaves readily and willingly returned; the plantation now 
succeeds, and the Slaves are contented and happy, and think themselves 
much better off than under the copyhold system, for their wages would 
not afford them many comforts which they have now. 

" I have been so long used to the clamour and base abuse against us, 
as to have become callous to them. I feel for my children and grand- 
children, but with me the game is nearly up, and nothing can happen 
very distressing in my time. 

(Signed) " JOHN BECKLES." 

Such are the schemes, and such the plans, upon which Great Britain 
and her Legislature are called upon to found the new system to improve 
— to ruin the Colonies, and all connected with them. I could add other 
documents of a similar nature, but deem it unnecessary. 



FINIS. 



LONDON . 

PRINTED BY BRICKWOOD, 47, TH RE ADNEEBLE -STREET, 



JAN 2 1 1924 



ERRATUM— No. II. 



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